THE ARTHUR FRASER COMPETITION
The Symphony League has long been active in the development of talented young musicians. The collaboration of the Symphony League and The University of South Carolina School of Music through the annual Southeastern Piano Festival reinforces and increases opportunities for talented musicians.
The first place winner of the Southeastern Piano Festival is referred to as the "Southeastern Piano Festival and Arthur Fraser International Concerto Competition Winner." The 2009 winners were as follows: Sean Yeh, first place; Joseph Mohan, second place; Baron Fenwick, third place. The Symphony League sponsors the performance of the first prize winner at the January 16, 2010, concert of the South Carolina Philharmonic. Second and third place winners appear with the South Carolina Philharmonic during separate Young People's Concerts.
FIRST PLACE
Sean Yeh, son of Rosa and Tony Yeh, is a senior at Libertyville High School in Illinois. In 2006 he won first place in the Sejong Music Competition and was a national finalist in the MTNA Baldwin Junior Piano Competition. Sean was a national finalist in the MTNA Yamaha Senior Piano Competition in 2008. Sean also won third prize in the Piano Arts National Piano Competition and performed with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. In 2009 Sean won first prize in the Eighteenth Annual Steinway Young Artists Solo Piano Competition. His solo performance appearances include the Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center, Skokie Public Library (Young Steinway Concert Series), the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at the Millennium Park, Chicago WFMT radio, and From the Top radio show. Sean has worked with some of the most internationally renowned piano teachers at master classes including John Perry, Pawel Skrzypek, Lee Kum-Sing, and Thomas Hecht. Sean made his orchestra debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a pianist in Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals in 2008. Sean studies with Matthew Hagle and Alan Chow.
SECOND PLACE
Joseph Mohan, son of William and Jean Mohan, is a junior at Clarence High School in Clarence, New York. Since beginning his piano studies at age seven, he has participated in many competitions, adjudications, masterclasses, workshops, and festivals. He won the New York Music Teachers Association Junior Division, was a finalist in the Julia Crane Piano Competition, won the Thousand Island Piano Competition, and has performed with the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra. Joseph has been selected to play with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic in the upcoming year. He also plays he violin and enjoys swimming and biking. He currently studies piano with Alla Kuznetsov at the Eastman Community Music School in Rochester, New York.
THIRD PLACE
Baron Fenwick, son of Cindy Norris and Jay Fenwick, is a fifteen-year-old ninth grader at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Baron's honors and awards include honorable mention in the 2007 North Carolina ASTA competition, winner of the 2007 Western Piedmont Youth Symphony Concerto competition, finalist in the 2006 and winner of the 2009 North Carolina Symphony Concerto Competition, and performance opportunities in master classes with renowned instrumentalists such as Roy Eaton, Paul Neubauer, and Cho-Liang Lin. In addition, Baron performed at the Washington Ballet Company Gala in Carnegie-Mellon Auditorium in Washington DC, and had the distinct honor of performing at the unveiling of the $1.2 million Kuhn-Bosendorfer piano in Winston-Salem. Baron has been playing piano since the age of six and currently studies with Appalachian State University professor, Bair Shagdaron, and UNCSA professor, Clifton Matthews.