August 5th - August 15th 2024

Our Alumni

We are proud to share our alumni's remarkable accomplishments

  • Daniil Trifonov

    Country:
    Russia
    Prizes won:
    2008
    Fifth Prize at the 4th International Scriabin Competition in Moscow
    2008
    First Prize at the 3rd International Piano Competition of San Marino
    2010
    Third Prize at the XVI International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw
    2011
    First Prize at the 13th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv
    2011
    First Prize, Gold Medal, and Grand Prix at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow
  • Photo: Marco Borggreve

    Shai Wosner

    Country:
    Israel
    Prizes won:
    2000
    Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award

    Pianist Shai Wosner has attracted international recognition for his exceptional artistry, musical integrity, and creative insight. His performances of a broad range of repertoire - from Beethoven and Schubert to Ligeti and the music of today - reflect a degree of virtuosity and intellectual curiosity that has made him a favorite among audiences and critics, who note his “keen musical mind and deep musical soul” (NPR’s All Things Considered).

  • Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev

    Country:
    Russia
    Prizes won:
    2012
    1st Prize at the International V Scriabin Piano Competition
    2003
    1st Prize at “Le Muse” Piano Competition in Italy
    2003
    Grand Prix at the International Piano Competition in Kaliningrad
    2008
    1st Prize at Rovere d’Oro
    2008
    1st Prize at the “New Names” Competition in Moscow
  • Jean-Paul Gasparian

    Country:
    France
    Prizes won:
    2013
    third Prize at the Concours International de piano de Lyon
    2014
    Prize Denis Antoine, Fondation AVC CHARITY at International Piano Campus in Cergy Pontoise
    2014
    Second Prize at the Bremen Competition
    2009
    Grand Prix, FLAME competition
    2013
    Tel-Hai International Concerto Audition
    2013
    Hastings Piano International Competition
    2013
    finalist of Virtuoses du Cœur competition in Paris
  • Jeong Hyun Yoon

    Country:
    S. Korea
    Prizes won:
    2015
    1st prize at The Concerto Audition in Tel-Hai International Piano Master Classes
    2016
    1st prize of Young Chang Music Competition
    2016
    2nd prize of Hong Kong International Piano Competition
  • Kit Armstrong

    Country:
    United States
    Prizes won:
    2010
    Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival’s Leonard Bernstein Award
    2014
    WEMAG-Soloist Prize at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival

    After attending Tel-Hai Master Classes as a young boy, Kit Armstrong grew to become one of today's most important young pianists.  Of his appearance in the opening concert of New York Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival in July 2017, The New York Times wrote: "A brilliant pianist Kit Armstrong, 25, combined musical maturity and youthful daring in his exceptional playing".

    From age 13, he has been taught and guided by Alfred Brendel who ascribes to him "an understanding of the great piano works that combines freshness and subtlety, emotion and intellect".

    In addition to his world-spanning career as orchestral soloist and recitalist, Kit Armstrong is an avid chamber-music player and collaborator in song recitals.

    Armstrong's compositions are published by Edition Peters. He has received commissions from the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra, and BASF Culture Management, among others.

  • Kyle Orth

    Country:
    United States
    Prizes won:
    2017
    Finalist and Audience Prize, Washington International Piano Competition
    2016
    Grand Prize, Friends of the Minnesota Young Artist Competition
    2014
    First Prize, New England Conservatory Concerto Competition
    2014
    First Prize, Dallas International Piano Competition 
    2010
    First Prize, Tel Hai Concerto Audition

    Hailed as “spine-tingling” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and “breathtaking” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), American pianist Kyle Orth has distinguished himself globally as a captivating soloist and chamber musician. Since his orchestral debut at the age of fifteen, Orth has appeared as a soloist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Oaxaca (Mexico), under the batons of Jaap van Zweden, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Hugh Wolff, and others. He recently joined Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra on their subscription series to present Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2. His “unbuttoned enthusiasm” left a “sparkling impression” on critics, and the Star Tribune further commended his playing for its “thrillingly visceral” impact.

    As a chamber musician, Orth has performed in prominent international festivals including the Perlman Music Program, the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Pablo Casals Festival-Academie in France. He studied at Texas Christian University and New England Conservatory as a student of John Owings and Wha Kyung Byun. In 2021 Orth was appointed Professor of Piano, Wheaton College Conservatory of Music in Illinois. 

  • Lahav Shani

    Country:
    Israel
    Prizes won:
    2013
    first prize at the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg

    Chief Conductor, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (from 2018/19)
    Principal Guest Conductor, Wiener Symphoniker (from 2017/18)

    Prodigiously gifted Israeli conductor Lahav Shani’s conducting career was launched when he won first prize at the 2013 Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg. Since then he has quickly established himself as one of the most talked about young conducting talents making a huge impression with his astonishing maturity and natural, instinctive musicality.

  • Matan Porat

    Country:
    Israel
    Prizes won:
    2009
    2009 Prime Minister Award for composers, Israel
    2011
    ECHO Award

    Matan Porat is one of the most original voices to have emerged in recent years, with artistic activity encompassing a wide spectrum of work as a pianist and composer.

    Porat has played solo recitals at such venues as the Philharmonie in Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London, Auditorium du Louvre and Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt and 92Y in New York. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Concerto Budapest, Geneva Camerata, SWR Sinfonieorchester, Münchener Kammerorchester, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

  • Nikita Mndoyants

    Country:
    Russia
    Prizes won:
    2016
    first prize at the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition
    2007
    first prize at the Paderewsky International Piano Competition
    2013
    finalist at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
    2014
    first prize at the Myaskovsky International Competition of Composers (Moscow, Russia)
    2016
    and Prokofiev International Competition of Composers (Sochi, Russia)
  • Niklas Pokki

    Country:
    Finland
    Prizes won:
    1999
    Artistic director of the Mänttä Music Festivals

    Head of the Piano department and Lecturer of Piano Music and Piano Pedagogy at the Sibelius Academy, studied at the Sibelius Academy (Matti Raekallio and Teppo Koivisto) and at the HfM Karlsruhe (Carmen Piazzini). His research interests are piano practice and piano sight reading. Pokki is also the founder and Artistic Director of Mänttä Music Festival and the co-founder and Coordinator of the Youth Piano Academy, a training program for exceptionally talented teenagers. He is also a Board Member of EPTA Finland (European Piano Teachers´ Association)

  • Suah Ye

    Country:
    South Korea
    Prizes won:
    2016
    1st Arthur Rubinstein International Youth Piano Competition in Beijing, China
    2016
    1st prize at the 9th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians
    2016
    Pnina Salzman award at Tel-Hai International Piano Master Classes
    2015
    Grand Prize at the Han-kook Ilbo Junior National
    2015
    1st prize at the Asia International Piano Academy Festival
    2015
    1st prize at Korea Chopin competition
  • Tal-Haim Samnon

    Country:
    Israel
    Prizes won:
    2006
    Turgeman competition
    2006
    Paul Ben Haim competition
    2006
    Tel Hai International Master Classes Concerto Audition - 2nd prize

    Since the age of seven he has performed at many concerts in Israel, Europe and the USA: Germany, Austria, France, Scotland, Holland, Switzerland, Portugal, Florida, Washington DC and in the Carnegie Hall in New-York . He often performs for the Israeli "voice of music" channel, both in live broadcasts and in recordings, and has recorded for the Dutch radio as well.

  • Tomer Gewirtzman

    Country:
    Israel
    Prizes won:
    2015
    1st prize at Young Concert Artists International Auditions
    2014
    First Prize at the Wideman International Piano Competition in Louisiana
    2013
    the Piano Prize and Audience Prize at the America – Israel Cultural Foundation’s Aviv Competition
    2014
    Third Prize at the inaugural Midwest Piano Competition in Iowa
    2010
    First Prize and a special prize for a commissioned piece for the competition at the Clairmont Competition in Israel
    2010
    First Prize at the Piano Forever competition in Ashdod
  • Yaron Kohlberg

    Country:
    Israel
    Prizes won:
    2007
    Cleveland competition
    2006
    the international Parnassos competition in Monterrey, Mexico
    2011
    Top of the World competition in Tromsø, Norway
    2008
    the Tivoli competition, Copenhagen
    2006
    the international Grieg competition in Oslo
    2006
    the international competition in Andorra
    1997
    and the Shostakovich competition, Hanover
    2006
    the outstanding participant at the Tel Hai piano masterclass
    2018
    Appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland International Piano Competition in USA
  • Yeon Min Park

    Country:
    S. Korea
    Prizes won:
    2017
    Chopin Preis, Olsztyn Konzertpreis and Glogówek Konzertpreis
    2017
    Theodor Leschetizky Klavierwettbewerb Polnischer Musik
    2017
    3rd Prize, Seoul International Music Competition
    2016
    2nd Prize, Andre Dumortier International Piano Competition
    2016
    3rd Prize, Panama International Piano Competition
    2016
    Grand Prize & Paola Baschetti Prize, 17th Maria Giubielei
    2016
    International Piano Competition
    2016
    1st Prize, International Piano Competition in Mayenne
    2015
    1st Prize, Mendelssohn Prize & Yamaha Prize, Hanoi International Piano Competition
    2015
    Pnina Salzman Memorial Prize, Tel Hai International Piano Master Classes
    2015
    1st Prize, Korea-Asia Open Piano Competition
    2014
    1st Prize, The 40th Palma d’oro International Piano Competition
    2014
    2nd Prize and Special Honors, 2014 Luciano Luciani International Piano Competition
    2014
    Special Prize of Beethoven Sonata, Piano FVG International Competition
    2014
    1st Prize, The 40th Joongang Music Competition
  • Yevgeny Yontov

    Country:
    Israel
    Prizes won:
    2017
    Finalist in the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition
    2010
    gold medal at the Wideman International Piano Competition in Louisiana
    2010
    1st prize at the Tel-Hai International Concerto Audition in Israel
    2009
    Boesendorfer International Piano Competition in Arizona
    2009
    the Olga Kern International Piano Competition in New Mexico
    2011
    and the International Piano Competition in Pinerolo, Italy