[Jerry Xue Hao Chen] Piano can really say things that I cannot say with words. In piano or in music, that's where I can really lose myself.
[Anna Boonyanit] I'm kind of like a shy person, but when I play the piano I don't really have to speak and so it's kind of nice to
connect with people in like a way without having to speak.
[Shangru Du] I felt the sound of piano is so beautiful and is fascinating.
It's powerful.
[Douglas Humpherys] "Welcome to the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition." This is
the fourteenth Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition. We started in 1997 and the competitors
are all between the ages of fifteen and eighteen. "From China, Yanfeng Bai." The first event of the
competition is a drawing for the order of performance. "Number ten." So we just have
a bowl filled with 22 numbers and each student comes up individually and draws
a number and then that's the number that's observed throughout the, all of the solo rounds. "Number one."
[Jerry Xue Hao Chen] I think that to be the first one whose going to play for the competition is a very scary thing.
[Douglas Humpherys] Competitors don't like to draw number one in general just
because it means they have to play first. The judges have nothing to compare that performance to.
[Jerry Xue Hao Chen] There will be many people who are going to watch you and have their eyes on you and I think being
that person on stage and that's a really good chance for me to really show who I am and for me too let the people know that I truly love music.
[Douglas Humpherys] The world of piano has become so global.
This year we have eight countries represented from the competitors.
It's a terrific mix of culture and background and geography and language and music is always the
thing that unites everybody.
They've been practicing probably since they were four years old and it's not
unusual for very young children, six, seven years old to be practicing three and four hours every day.
[Jerry Xue Hao Chen] I think that for school days I try to do four a day but then for the summer time I practice about six to seven hours a day.
[Oscar Jiang] I'll admit that I don't practice that much, probably three or four hours.
[Misha Gallant] I usually don't practice enough, like maybe I practice around three to four hours a day.
[Shangru Du] I practice six hours a day.
[Siyuan Xu] Generally I practice four or five hours during the Monday to Friday.
[Jerry Xue Hao Chen] When I practice, that's when I work but then when I go on stage, that's not for work, it's for fun, right.
So, I think that the part where it really makes me nervous is the part where I walk on stage and I see all the judges,
in the front seat but then once I start, I try to think about the piece and I try to not be too nervous.
[Douglas Humpherys] In terms of judging the competition, you only get a snapshot of this student's life.
No matter ho w well prepared you are the thing that matters is the performance so
once they get on stage there's no chance for a take two.
[Deborah Ronnen] I love the competition. I love what it does for Rochester. It makes it a cultural city.
There's no question that they're kids and the minute the hands strikes the keyboard there's a
transformation and you, realize what kind of dedication it takes to be able to
achieve that level of mastery at that age.
[Oscar Jiang] Preparing for competition there are lots of different aspects. Just the
technical you have to know your pieces inside out, upside down.
You have to know how the piece is structured and how musically you want it to sound.
[Brian Le] I'm always looking for new things in the music, behind the score, to bring out or to develop so I'm always looking for that and
that's what it just drives me to keep practicing, keep improving and keep
looking for the intricacies in my music. [Siyuan Xu] Playing the piano is a very interesting
thing you, there are so many mysterious things that hide in the music. You should use your brain, use your
hand, use your soul and use your ears to discover them.
[Shangru Du] When I perform, I feel so free, so open and I think this competition can bring me this feel.
[Anna Boonyanit] Music has definitely shaped me as a person.
For me, music is kind of like finding my own way of an expression, like my own way to express myself.
[Oscar Jiang] It's almost a kind of intangible aspect that you have to feel the music inside you.
Every piece has its own different set of emotions and then you have to feel that
one hundred percent and it will make you cry, it will make you laugh and will make you dance and that,
that kind of expression is, I think, one of the most wonderful things about music.
[Tommy Jing Yu Leo] Well, waiting for the results. It definitely is a nerve wracking experience as you never know what's going to happen with competitions.
[Douglas Humpherys] Tonight we're going to name five winners who will go to the finals.
[Misha Galant] I was sitting with all the other competitors and the judges were taking a very long time so we were all very
nervous and stressed a little bit.
[Douglas Humpherys] From the United States number twenty one, Misha Galant.
[Misha Gallant] But when my name was called I was very excited because I knew I would get to play with the orchestra and that's really why I came here.
[Douglas Humpherys} From the United States, Evelyn Mo.
[Evelyn Mo] When I heard my name called I was a bit surprised because everyone sounded so good from inside
the practice room and all I was also happy because now I get to play with the orchestra.
[Speaking Chinese]
[Douglas Humpherys] From China number sixteen, Yaowen Mei.
[Translator] When they announced his name he couldn't believe that it was him. He said I ran as fast as I could to the stage
before they change their mind.
[Deborah Ronnen] The opportunity to walk onto a stage, like Kodak Hall, and play with a first rate orchestra, is something that probably
none of them have had the opportunity to do before.
Obviously playing with an orchestra requires different skills so it gives the judges an added dimension in how they determine who the winner should be.
[Brian Le} The hours before are the worst. You're just thinking of everything that could go wrong.
But I guess when I'm on stage, after I take a bow and I sit down,
that's where all my thoughts go and I just pour my heart into the music and that's where the fun happens.
That's why I like performing.
[Misha Gallant] I love making music and I love bringing music to the public.
When I get on stage I really get into the music. I forget about all my surroundings and I really just love making music.
[Tommy Jing Yu Leo]I think the competition is not so much of whether you win or not, but it's about the experience and meeting new people.
[Doug Humpherys] I think the younger students are easily disappointed when they have a set-back or when they don't win a prize.
Ultimately it's the work that, that provides the satisfaction more than the prize and if you can think that way
it enhances your likelihood of success.
[Brian Le] There's only one top prize and so I don't go into competition thinking "Oh, I have to get that prize."
I don't really focus on the results I just focus on the music.
[Douglas Humpherys] If you win a prize on Thursday night, on Friday morning, you're still exactly the same pianist.
And if you don't win a prize on Thursday night, on Friday morning, you're still exactly the same pianist and the work continues.
First prize, the Gold Medal, is awarded to Brian Le.
[Jerry Xue Hao Chen] What I'd like to do in the future with piano is that I really want to become a teacher because, you
know, I think that is a great joy to pass on what I have learned.
[Anna Boonyanit] I don't really know if I want to be a concert pianist so I really like computer science and I know
that there's schools with joint programs, in CS in music so that's like kind of what I'm looking into right now.
[Oscar Jiang] I want to see myself going in the direction of a concert pianist where I can travel and perform and share my music with other people.
I think that's what I want to do.
[Brian Le] I can't imagine my life without music so I think I'm going to continue it and just keep playing and see where that leads me.
[Deborah Ronnen] The competition represents the best of what a city can be. It shows leadership in the arts. It creates a gathering place for arts
education, international exchange and cultural excellence.
[Doug Humpherys] It's just a snapshot of one week in the life of people who work for a very long time for many, many years.
practicing everyday to become artists so the competition is just, an event in their lives but everything surrounding the pursuit of music
and the pursuit of music education is really the goal.
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