Author: Music and Stars Awards

I am Zeynep Duru Güleç, I’m 9th grade student at the Dokuz Eylül State Conservatory, Harp Department. I started making music with the cello in 3rd grade. I took great pleasure in making music, so I decided to become a musician and started preparing for the conservatory exams in the same year.

I chose the harp in the exam because the harp always fascinated me. I studied with Şirin Pancaroğlu in my first year. It wasn’t easy to get used to the harp, but my love and desire always kept me strong, after a year I was sure that I was made for the harp.

In my second year, Cansu Çine became my teacher, I studied two years with her. At the moment I’am student of Ece Yavaş and I continue my studies with her. I do online masterclasses with Pınar Sivritepe, Deniz Esen and Dalibor Bernatovic, and live masterclasses with Yegan Naza Xanum, Merve Kocabeyler and Meriç Dönük. 

I practice the harp for about 4 hours a day, and playing the harp motivates me. I listen to all kinds of music.
During the day, apart from studying solo repertoire, I also practice technical studies such as etudes. I think music has no limits . We must constantly learn something and improve. I always tell myself I can do better.

I would love to be an orchestra artist in the future and also to continue my solo concerts.

Hi! I am Lucy and I was born in Yerevan, Armenia in 2006. I began playing the piano at the age of 4 at Music School After P. I. Tchaikovsky. I study in the class of prof. Rosa Tandilyan, who helps me to discover the world of music. Thanks to our work together, I became a laureate in many international music competitions.

My favorite kinds of music are classical and romantic. My favorite composer is S. Rachmaninoff, but I also like F. Liszt, L. van Beethoven, S. Prokofiev, F. Chopin, R. Schumann, P.I. Tchaikovsky, C. Debussy, etc.

Usually I practise 3-4 hours a day, but my practice hours depend on what I am preparing for. If I am going to participate in a competition, I will practise more.

My dream is to become a professional pianist and good musician.

If I had to choose a humanitarian project to sustain, I would help talented students to study in the best conservatories in the world.

It was really a great pleasure to take part in the “Music and Stars Awards” contest. 

Thank you so much.    

 Carlotta Malquori, Matthias Balzat and Andrea D’Amato met as students and graduates of the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule Düsseldorf and founded “Ares Trio” in 2019. There they had the privilege of studying with artists such as Noè Inui, Lisa Smirnova and Pieter Wispelwey, and in addition to their artistic activities in Germany, the young trio has a busy concert schedule both as an ensemble and individually, especially in Italy, Greece and New Zealand. The trio are also students of the Avos Project Academy in Rome, where they work regularly with the Avos Quartet, David Romano, and various guest soloists. The Ares Trio received grants from the Avos Project and the “Takaya Urakawa” and “Neustart Kultur” foundations, which enabled the production of their debut CD in collaboration with the German label “Coviello Classics”, for which they recorded works by Arno Babadjanian and Dmitri Shostakovich.

Outside of our individual careers, we usually find time on the weekends to work together, setting aside as many hours as necessary to prepare for our upcoming engagements. At times, we would also meet in pairs during the week to work more intensively on isolated sections of music.

We have had the opportunity to work with professors and renowned international performers from all over the world, the names of which are listed above.

Our dream is to establish ourselves as an internationally recognised and regular performing ensemble, as an equally important component of each of our careers. 

 At the age of six, I realized that I was passionate about singing. My interest for singing led my parents to send me to a music school. Being born and raised in Bangkok Thailand, I have been singing both Thai and English music.This article will walk you through my experience in the musical field and my dreams in the non-musical field.

From past two years, I have been training under Kru Praew. In March 2022, I won a trophy and a money prizefor my sining. My interest specifically lies in pop music because I enjoy listening to it. I mostly practice singingin the car when I am traveling. Before singing, I do vocal warm-ups using YouTube and then, I practice around2-4 songs. Before the competitions, I do extra practice at home for around 2 hours a day. Kru Praew has taught me to use my voice correctly.

When I grow up, I want to be a psychologist to solve people’s problem. Besides that, I want to teach poor children singing for free as a side hustle.

If music is what you love, you must put in your heart and soul to go after it. Hopefully I can fulfill my dreams to bring a positive change in people’s lives.

New Zealand cellist Matthias Balzat has been on the stage since he could walk. Growing up in a large musical family, his passion for the instrument only grew. Already at an early age he showed promise, winning his first national competition at the age of 9, and subsequently every national competition available to him in the country, including the National Concerto Competition (twice), the Wallace International Cello Competition, and the Young Performer of the Year award. By the age of 17 he had completed his first degree, a Bachelor of Music at the University of Waikato under James Tennant, after which he moved to Düsseldorf to complete his Masters at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule under Pieter Wispelwey. There he has settled as a free-lance soloist and chamber musician, and has won numerous awards being over seas, such as the ROSL Strings Competition, and the University Concerto Competition.

My current favourite piece to listen to and play is the Britten Cello Symphony, although I enjoy a vast array of different music genres.

Given a free undisturbed day, I would practice up to 10 hours in a day, although such a luxury does not come by very often. I practice to learn, I continue where I left off from the previous session, and avoid all and any warm up exercises for that reason. If my ears aren’t open, my practice won’t bring any progress. 

I try to select a programme that portrays my strengths, while showcasing a powerful musical variety to impress. There is no secret to success, other than to use your preparation time to craft the best performance you can, and hoping it amounts to unanimous respect.

At 3 years old, I began lessons with Sally-Anne Brown, who instilled the the instrument into my being. I then moved to James Tennant, who taught me to bring passion and reason to performance without fail. Currently I study with Pieter Wispelwey, who continues to inspire me to treat every note with respect, and to interpret music in the most honest way.

My dream is to expand and maintain that which I already do, to travel the world and perform everything everywhere with everyone. 

Altair String Quartet was founded in 2021. This chamber music group is based on the string players of the Kunming International Philharmonic Orchestra (China, Province Yunnan).

There are three musicians from Belarus and one Colombian in the string quartet. Viola and cello players have been working now as sub-principals and violins are tutti-players.

During their musical career, the musicians repeatedly became laureates of international and national competitions and festivals.

They are the owners of awards and scholarships, laureates of a special fund to support talented youth.

The string quartet’s repertoire includes mainly works by Western European classical and romantic composers, but also includes Russian composers and some Chinese popular works. The repertoire is constantly updated.

Musicians regularly rehearse at the base of the orchestra, the College of Music in Kunming, Yunnan Province (China).

Favorite composers are: Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Borodin. The main goals of the quartet are to continue to participate in competitions (also online), to develop, to perform new works, to play often in concerts and to achieve fame.

My name is Hao Ruolan. I was born in Shanghai. I am 10 years old now. I have played piano for 4 years and learned composition for 2 years. I am a piano player and composer in a lovely youth orchestra in Shanghai.

I often compose for my friends and they are very happy.

This year, I will start my piano and composition major at Tianjin Juilliard School. It will help me to become a musician in the future.

I love performing and cooperating with
musicians.

I wish to be a bridge between East and West through music and love.

In 2022 Arman took part in London Arman Grigoryan was born on January 8, 2007 in Yerevan. He has been attending a music school since he was five. He studies at music school after Sayat-Nova in the sixth grade.

His vocal teacher is Armine Mkrtchyan.
He took part in the Art Music competition and won GRAND PRIX prize. In Nouvelles Etoiles-online music competition he won the first prize, and won the second prize in Sopravista Olympic Art 2021 competition.

In 2022 Arman took part in London Classical Music Competition and won the third prize.

Apart from singing Arman is fond of reading world history.

Singing plays an important role in Arman’s life.

“Hello, I am Michelle Choi from the United States of America. I was born in Chino Hills, California and have performed as a soloist since a young age, starting from recitals at a senior community center. Over the past years, I have gradually been awarded several prizes from various institutes, ranging from many gold, silver, bronze, and honorable mention awards. I still actively attend competitions and am currently practicing for them. Aside from playing classical piano, I enjoy playing the flute and running for my school’s cross country and track team. 

I prefer various types of music rather than one specific kind. I mainly listen to genres such as indie and alternative, but rather than choosing by category, I listen to songs for their individual quality. Recently, I have been listening to Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 by Frédéric Chopin.

I practice three hours a day on my own piano. I do not do any warm-up exercises, but I play my pieces broken down into sections using different rhythms so I can focus on smaller parts I have trouble with.

I practice an hour extra during the summer and breaks to prepare for competitions. I try to perfect technique and add musicality as the competition deadlines get closer.

I study with my teacher, Jiwon Han. She teaches me how to make my own music while still understanding the composer’s motives. She teaches me how to vitalize my style while maintaining the correct technique. 

Although not specific, my dream is to someday help those around me regardless of who they are and what background they are from. My goal is to let people know that they are cared for. Even one act of kindness can make someone happy and spread hope in humanity. 

I would choose humanitarian projects such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and Refugees International as victims are affected by the weights of warfare and violence. What happens to citizens may not be their fault, and it is essential for them to know that they are cared for and supported by people worldwide.”