Paderewski Festival Announces Winners of the 2017 Youth Piano Competition

The Paderewski Festival announced winners of its 2017 Youth Piano Competition. Auditions were held on Saturday, October 21, in Park Ballroom in the heart of downtown Paso Robles.
Paderewski Festival Logo 2017
The judges included India D’Avignon, professor of music at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and member of the Paderewski Festival Board of Directors, composer Marcel Chyrzyński, Head of Composition Department at Kraków Music Academy in Kraków, Poland, and Marek Zebrowski, Artistic Director of the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles and Director of the Polish Music Center, University of Southern California.
The Youth Competition is open to students residing in Central California including, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Fresno counties. Thirteen students participated in this year’s auditions, seven in the Junior Division and six in the Senior Division, and the jurors decided to award the following prizes:

2017 Youth Piano Competition Winners

2017 Paderewski Festival Youth Competition winners (L-R): Vincent Lertchareonyong (Third Place, Junior Division); Max Afifi (First Place, Senior Division); Xinyun Liu (Second Place, Senior Division); Andy Shen (Paderewski Legacy Award, Junior Division); Holly Hadsall (Second Place, Junior Division); and Noelle Hadsall (First Place, Junior Division)


The Paderewski Legacy Award winner is Andy Shen (11) from San Luis Obispo, who studies with Alan Boehmer.
The Third Place winner, Junior Division, is Vincent Lertchareonyong (14) from Santa Barbara, who studies with Dr. Charles Asche.
The Second Place winner, Junior Division, is Holly Hadsall (12) from Santa Barbara, who studies with Lana Bodnar.
The First Place winner, Junior Division, is Noelle Hadsall (8) from Santa Barbara, who studies with Lana Bodnar.
The Second Place winner, Senior Division, is Xinyun Liu (16) from Salinas, who studies with Lynwood Bronson.
The First Place winner, Senior Division, is Max Afifi (17) from Seaside, who studies with Barbara Ruzicka.
The Junior and Senior Division students will perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Mily Balakirev, Frederic Chopin, Claude Debussy, Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and Ernest Toch on Saturday, November 4, 2017, at 4 p.m. Held traditionally at the historic Ballroom of the Paso Robles Inn, the concert is free and open to the public. More information about this concert and the 2017 Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles can be found at: paderewskifest.com