The 21st biennial MASTA Elizabeth E. H. Green Solo Competition Final Round was held on November 13, 2022 at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale Michigan. Guest competition judges were two principal members of the Toledo Symphony: Kirk Toth, Concertmaster and Amy Chang, Associate Principal Cello.
The First Place, Gold Medal and $1,000 prize money was shared by two violinists: Javier Torres Delgado (Danielle Belen, teacher) for his performance of the Concerto for Violin in G Minor, Op. 80, movt. 1 by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Stefan Hubenov (Dmitri Berlinsky, teacher) for his performance of Sonata No. 3 in D Minor: Ballade, Op. 27 by Eugene Ysaye.
The Second Place, Silver Medal and $500 prize money was awarded to Diego Mieres (Yizhak Schotten, teacher) for his performance of the Rebecca Clarke Sonata for Viola, movt. 1.
Minji Kim’s performance of the Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63. movt 1, earned a special Honorable Mention certificate. Sixteen-year old Minji is a student of Aaron Berovsky.
Seven applicants were chosen to compete in the Final Round, selected from a highly competitive First Round of online submissions. Those final round participants were (addition to those mentioned above):
Katelynn Ehlert, harp; Chen-Yu Huang teacher
Guanqun Li, violin; Junqi Tang, teacher
Catra Wunder, violin; Danielle Belen, teacher
Thank you to all the participants for a wonderful competition. The judges agreed that the level of playing far exceeded past years. I also share MASTA’s appreciation to our sponsors for supporting Michigan string education: Meyer Music, Baroque Violins, Central Music, College Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Hillsdale College.
Melissa Knecht, Director: MASTA 2022 Elizabeth E. H. Green Solo Competition