The 7th National Chopin Piano Competition winners announced

A jury of nine internationally acclaimed artists selected the winners of the 7th National Chopin Piano Competition.

The four medalists were Mei-Ting Sun, Rachel Kudo, Sean Kennard and Esther Park. Sun, 24, is a student at Juilliard School of Music who won the first prize of $18,000. Kudo, 18, a student at the Music Institute of Chicago, won the second prize of $12,000. Kennard, 21, winner of the third prize and $8,000, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. The final medalist, 21-year-old Juilliard student Park, won fourth prize and $5,000.

Two special awards of $2,000 were awarded to finalists who were non-medalists: 21-year-old Juilliard student Igor Lovchinsky and 20-year-old San Francisco Conservatory of Music student Howard Na.

Special awards of $1,000 each were given to Igor Lovchinsky for Best Performance of Mazurka and Mei-Ting Sun, who received awards for Best Performance of Polonaise and Best Performance of Concerto.

The medalists will participate in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland, with all expenses paid by the Chopin Foundation. The first prize winner will tour the U.S. in a series of more than 20 concerts prearranged by the Chopin Foundation.

For more information, visit www.chopin.org or e-mail info@chopin.org.

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