Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists Announces Prizes

Young Korean pianist Saehyun Kim receives $10,000 in prize money, as well as the Audience Prize and the Jury Prize

Sixteen young pianists competed in the Senior Division of the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists (CIPC), which is for players aged between 15 and 18.

16-year-old Korean pianist Saehyun Kim was recently named as the winner of the senior division receiving the Grand Prize of $10,000 cash, the Audience Prize, and the Junior Jury Prize of $500 apiece.

In the final round, Kim chose to play Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 and was accompanied by the Canton Symphony Orchestra. He had already performed Brahms's Piano Trio No. 1 in the chamber music round, in which he collaborated with members of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Kim is currently living in Massachusetts, where he studies with HaeSun Paik in the preparatory division of the New England Conservatory. He has won the Morningside Music Bridge International Concerto Competition and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School Concerto Competition.

He also received second prize at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Online Piano Competition for Young Musicians, at which he was the youngest finalist.

"I am ecstatic about the result and Saehyun’s well-deserved achievement!" said HaeSun Paik, Kim's teacher and the Co-Chair of Piano at the New England Conservatory. "He is already an artist with phenomenal talent and a brilliant mind, which is served by uncompromising self-discipline: a rare combination. I can’t wait to see how he will develop further in the future."