WINNERS of the 2021 Rotary Calgary Concerto Competition
View their performance by clicking on the MUSIC NOTES below their picture
Anita Hao is a fourteen-year-old pianist who started piano at 5 years old. In China, she studied under Yuan Xie, the Dean of the Tianjin Conservatory of Music (Piano section), but when she moved to Calgary, she began piano lessons with Natasha Molochnikov from 2013 to 2019. She is currently studying piano with Krzysztof Jablonski, a teacher at Mount Royal University, where she also attends the Academy Program. Throughout her musical years, she has taken masterclasses with many distinguished professors and musicians like Jamie Parker, Jin Zhang, Sasha Starcevich, Glen Montgomery, Ian Parker, Krzysztof Jablonski, Ilana Vered, Myong-Joo Lee, and many more.
In the year, 2017, she also attended the MusicFest in Perugia, Italy, where she performed numerous times. In 2018, she was one of the four winners of the Rotary C3 (Rotary Calgary Concerto Competition), getting the chance to perform with the Calgary Civic Symphony in the Jack Singer Concert Hall. During that year, she also attended the Cadenza Summer Camp based in Beijing and won second place at their competition. In 2019, she won second place at the CMC (Canadian Music Competition) and attended the prestigious International e-Piano MusicFest in Minnesota. In the summer of 2020, she was accepted into the Curtis Young Artists Summer Program where she participated in numerous musical studies lessons, chamber music ensembles, and masterclasses from acclaimed musicians. In the fall of 2020, she also won 2nd prize at the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition and 1st prize at the Rocky Mountain Piano Competition where she was invited to play a concert in Toronto in the summer of 2021. Annually, she wins many first prizes in CPAF (Calgary Performing Arts Festival) and has won two second prizes at the provincial festival (AMFA).
Anita has performed various genres of music from classical to pop and also explores many different kinds of ensembles from chamber to orchestral. Aside from piano, she is also very talented in math, where she won numerous awards, and among the top 10 students in her grade in high school.
Anita hao
Grieg Piano Concerto No. 1 (1st mvmt)
Dakota Perez
Dakota Perez, who is 18-years-old, is a pianist from Calgary. He was a runner-up in the Rotary C3 in 2020. He also competed in the final round of the Stampede Talent Competition in 2019. He has always wanted to perform with an orchestra; he is grateful and ecstatic at the opportunity to be a winner this year. He obtained his ARCT in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music at the age of 16. He was a student at the MRU Academy for Young Artists.
He is currently attending the University of Calgary in his first year of piano performance and is excited to continue his musical education with his current teacher, Dr. Lana Henchell. Dakota enjoys composing, teaching theory, playing games with his family, and cooking. His dream is to be a concert pianist and share his music around the world. He is very thankful for being able to compete for the past three years because of the efforts by everyone involved in making this opportunity available to young musicians.
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1 (1st mvmt)
Kathryn Fakeley
Kathryn Fakeley, age 16, began her cello studies at the age of 6 with Janet Kushak. For the past 6 years, she has been mentored in Calgary by Johanne Perron and John Kadz.
Kathryn serves as principal cellist of both the Rosedale Valley Strings Orchestra and Burman University Symphony Orchestra. She has also been playing the piano since the age of 4.
Kathryn has been participating regularly in the local music festivals since 2012, competing in both cello and piano. For multiple years, she has been a provincial candidate for cello, winning first place in 12 and under in 2017, and then first in 16 and under in 2019. Kathryn competed in the C3 Calgary Concerto Competition in 2019 and out of 48 candidates was selected as one of the runners up. She has also been a soloist with Burman University Symphony Orchestra in 2018 and 2019. Kathryn has been competing in the Canadian Music Competition since the age of 12, and was the 3rd place winner for Strings in her age category at the Canadian National Finals in 2019.
Kathryn has also had the privilege of being mentored by artists such as Jérôme Pernoo, Arnold Choi, Melissa Kraut, Desmond Hoebig, Tanja Tetzlaff and Jonathan Lo of the Rolston String Quartet.
In her spare time, Kathryn loves cross country skiing, hiking, reading, and going for walks during sunset. She is also interested in composition, songwriting, and music production.
Elgar, Concerto e min, Op. 85 (4th mvmt)
tessa nysetvold
Tessa Nysetvold, age 15, has studied cello with Beth Sandvoss, John Kadz and Johanne Perron. She is in the Advanced Performance Program for Young Artists at Mount Royal University Conservatory, is a member of the Calgary Youth Orchestra, and has participated in the Amici String Program. In addition to cello, Tessa has studied piano with Allen Reiser for the past ten years.
Some of her musical highlights include placing third in strings at the Canadian Music Competition in 2019, placing first in Provincials with her Amici String Trio in 2019, performing with the Mount Royal Conservatory Sinfonia as a concerto competition winner in 2018, placing first in Provincials for piano grade 7/8 in 2018, placing second at Provincials for solo cello in 2017, and being awarded three gold medals by the Royal Conservatory of Music for piano over the years. She enjoys participating in the Calgary Performing Arts Festival each year and has received many awards and scholarships.
Tessa is in grade ten at Bishop Carroll High School where she plays with the school’s Virtuosi String Ensemble. Outside of music, Tessa is an avid soccer player, enjoys being active in the outdoors, and likes creating in the kitchen both as a cook and baker.
Elgar, Concerto e min, Op. 85 (1st & 2nd mvmts)
Runners Up of the 2021 Competition
1st Chanan Ngo (violin) Mendelssohn Violin Concerto (1st mvmt) Fast forward to 1:15:00
2nd Jerry Li (piano) Grieg Piano Concerto (3rd mvmt) Fast forward to 27:10
3rd Daniel Kang (violin) Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (1st mvmt) Fast forward to 7:09:55
4th Fiona Marchetto (violin) Lalo Symphonie Espagnole (1st mvmt) Fast forward to 5:27:25