Festival Participants

Kenny Broberg, Student of Joseph Zins,
12:00PM-2:00PM, Arie Vardi

Kenny Broberg is a 17-year-old from Minneapolis regarded by many as a rising young star. A student of Dr. Joseph Zins, he has played the piano since age six. Many have found his performances to be laced with an inner freedom rare for a person of his age. His impressive accomplishments as a pianist include many prestigious awards, concert appearances with nationally-recognized musicians such as the Minnesota Orchestra, Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, and Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, radio performances and recordings for Thursday Musical’s web-site, and participation in numerous competitions. He has also attended piano camps such as the Young Artist Piano Camp at the University of Minnesota Duluth, honors recitals, and scholarship competitions. Recent awards of note include first place in the 2010 senior Young Artist World Piano Festival Concerto Competition and the 2010 Thursday Musical Young Artist Competition. At this point in his career, Kenny has a special affinity for the works of Liszt. Opera and out-of-print scores of Romantic piano music are two of Kenny’s chief enjoyments. As a musician, he has been able to give back to the community through performances at nursing homes and support for the Hongzhi Donation Project, which supports gifted, impoverished students in China. This fall Kenny will attend the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston.

Amanda Chan, Student of Alexander Braginsky,
10:00AM - 12:00PM, Sontraud Speidel

Amanda Chan is a nine-year-old pianist from Plymouth, MN. A third grader at Kimberly Lane elementary school, she has played the piano for five years. She is currently under the instruction of Professor Alexander Braginsky and Dr. Tania Spector. Bach is her favorite composer because of the beauty and complexity of his pieces. Her performance and competition history includes the Minnesota Music Teachers Association piano contest, Upper Midwest Music Festival, and Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum. Beyond her early musical accomplishments, Amanda is a strong student, enrolled in the Vision 21 gifted math and reading programs at Kimberly Lane. She also plays soccer and loves to win. She is known not only for her musical and academic talent, but also for her courageous convictions and servant heart. At home, she counts playing board games with her parents and two brothers as one of her favorite pastimes.

Chen Chen, Student of Juan Li,
10:00AM-12:00PM, Sontraud Speidel

Chen is a 11 year old. He will be attending Valley View Middle school in Edina. He has been playing the piano for five years. Chen likes to approach the keyboard with a smooth sound. His favorite composer is Chopin, because of his romantic pieces and he also enjoys listening to Yundi Li. Chen has participated in numerous competitions and recitals. Besides playing the piano, he loves studying Norse, Greek, Egypyian, and Roman mythology, math, and science. He loves playing tennis, basketball, badminton, racquetball, and soccer. Chen also studies karate for the past two years. During those 2 years, he joined many tournaments and achieved many trophies. Chen also plays the violin.

Crystal Cheng, Tania Spector and Alexander Braginsky,
12:00PM-2:00PM, Arie Vardi

Crystal Cheng is in seventh grade at Wayzata Central Middle School. She has taken piano lessons since she was four. Now at 13 years old, she is studying with Professor Alexander Braginsky and Dr. Tania Spector. She has won the Minnesota Music Teachers Association state contest and received honorable mention in the Thursday Musical Competition, as well as received a scholarship at the Upper Midwest Music Festival. Chamber music is one of her special interests, and she has attended Bravo Chamber Music Institute at the University of Minnesota
Beyond piano performance, Crystal loves art. Her artwork has won first place in the Minnesota State Fair Art Competition and the Hennepin County Art Contest. At school, she excels in science and math and is currently attending the University of Minnesota’s Talented Youth Mathematics Program.

Calvin Connell, Student of Tania Spector,
10:00AM-12:00PM, Sontraud Speidel

14-year-old Calvin Connell has played the piano since age six. His most recent instructor was Dr. Reid Smith, with whom he studied for five years; at present he is under the instruction of Dr. Tania Spector. Calvin traveled to France in 2007 to play in the Yves Nat International Music Festival and appreciated the chance to receive instruction from various piano masters. Other performance opportunities that Calvin has had include playing at Steinway Hall in New York and in an International Piano Festival in Gabala, Azerbaijan. Calvin’s performances closer to home include hospital and nursing home visits as well as recitals and talent shows. He especially enjoys accompanying his 11-year-old brother, who plays the violin. Besides piano, Calvin enjoys spending time with friends, playing trumpet with the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony, reading, and participating in outdoor activities.

Andy Dang, Student of Caroline Langfeld,
4:00PM-6:00PM, Jerome Rose

Andy Dang is a freshman at Spring Lake Park High School. He has been a student of music for 10 years under various instructors, and his piano instructor at present is Mrs. Caroline Langfeld. His recent musical accomplishments include winning first place in the Northwestern College Solo festival in his division and earning second place in the Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum Ninth Grade Music Award Auditions. He has also been chosen to play in this year’s Minnesota Music Teachers Association Honors Concert in the Junior Young Artist category.
On Sundays, Andy accompanies his church choir. He enjoys spending time with his friends and family in his spare time, as well as playing football, swimming, biking, and running track.

Austin Frohmader, Student of Joseph Zins,
12:00PM-2:00PM, Arie Vardi

Austin Frohmader, from Coon Rapids, MN, is a junior at Blaine High School. From the age of five, Austin has studied piano; currently he is enrolled at the Crocus Hill Studios in Saint Paul in the studio’s performance studies program for the Gifted and Talented. Dr. Joseph Zins is his teacher. He has received many distinguished awards in the last several years. Most recently, he won first place at the 2011 Young People’s Symphony Concert Association of the Minnesota Orchestra Concerto Competition and the Thursday Musical Young Artist Competition at Augsburg College, as well as received the prestigious Thelma Hunter Award and the Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum Recital Award. Currently Austin is preparing for the 2011 Young Artist World Piano Festival that is coming up in July at Bethel University. He has attended this festival for the last three years. Along with being a lauded pianist, he is a skilled improviser and composer/arranger, as well as a violinist in Blaine High School’s orchestra.

Lucas Jones, Student of Joseph Zins,
4:00PM-6:00PM, Jerome Rose

Lucas Jones is a freshman at Minnehaha Academy. This is his ninth year playing the piano. He has studied piano with Dr. Joseph Zins since the age of six. As a pianist he has participated in many competitions, of which the challenges and rewards continue to make each one worthwhile. Some of his favorite composers are Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, and Busoni; he likes them for their bold works. At Minnehaha Academy, Lucas is a dedicated student. His favorite classes are world history, biology, and ceramics. He especially enjoys world history, as his family’s roots are very diverse and he appreciates how different cultures affect present culture. In his free time he likes to read about European history, visit new places, and play the violin.

Maria Kobzev, Student of Elena Piastro,
12:00PM-2:00PM, Arie Vardi

Maria Kobzev is an eighth grade student at MCA. She was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. After moving with her family to the United States as a three-year-old, she learned how to play the piano at the age of five. Three years later, Elena Piastro took over Maria’s piano instruction. She has competed in the Northwestern College piano competition and performed for solo festivals, the Saint Paul Piano Teacher Association, and the At the Piano with Love Piano Festival, among other events and venues throughout the Twin Cities. In addition, Maria’s mother, a piano teacher, often invites her to be a guest performer at her own recitals.
A passionate musician, Maria is a member of the band and choir at her school, and she frequently performs special music in chapel services.

Elgin Lee, Student of Alexander Braginsky,
4:00PM-6:00PM, Jerome Rose

At 14 years old, Elgin Lee is a dedicated musician and a well-rounded student. He enjoys a diverse range of extracurricular activities in addition to his study of piano. Some of these activities include rollerblading and swimming. Known for his unquenchable passion for the written word, he likes books of all kinds of genres, including literature of the western canon as well as non-fictional biographies, historical accounts, and the current bestsellers.
When not seated at the piano bench, Elgin appreciates life’s simple pleasures and values time with his friends.

Chris Neiner, Student of Jane Ellickson,
4:00PM-6:00PM, Jerome Rose

16-year-old Chris Neiner lives in Burnsville, Minnesota, where he attends Burnsville High School. He has been an avid musician since the age of 10, when he learned how to play the French horn. In sixth grade he eagerly expanded his musical interest to the piano at the suggestion of his music teacher, and ever since he has studied piano with Jane Elickson. He has participated in the Dorian Keyboard Festival at Luther College and the Minnesota Music Teachers Association (MMTA) Honors Concert. His instruction in the French horn, provided by Larry Weber, Quixia Welch, and Joel Furchow, has allowed him to play in the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies and their chamber ensembles in cooperation with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
In addition to performance, Chris likes to compose. His oeuvre includes works for ensembles ranging from solo piano to full orchestra, and he is the winner of competitions through the National Federation of Music Clubs, MMTA, and the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra.

Nathan Qi, Student of Judit Jaimes,
2:00PM-4:00PM, Akiko Ebi

Nathan Qi hails from the culturally rich city of Ottawa, Canada. He began studying music at age five with Frances Balodis, the founder of the organization Music for Young Children. In the following years, he continued his music education with three different Russian musicians. Nathan credits one of these, teacher Stanislav Venglenski, for discovering his musical talents and providing him with a unique, multi-faceted musical education. Alongside traditional music instruction, Venglenski taught Nathan to play the game of chess, as well as the bayan, a Russian-style chromatic button accordion.
At present, Nathan studies piano with Professor Judit Jaimes at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.

Michael Tang, Student of Jo Anne Link,
10:00AM-12:00PM, Sontraud Speidel

Michael Tang is a sixth grader at Valley View Middle School in Edina, Minnesota. He studies piano with Dr. Jo Anne Link at the Crocus Hill Studios for the Gifted and Talented, where he is a member of the Young Artists Class. Michael’s musical involvement includes participation in numerous competitions. He was a finalist in the 2009 Saint Paul Piano Teachers Association Concerto Competition and received honorable mention in the 2010 Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum Mozart Concerto Competition, as well as at the 2010 National Young Artist Competition. In the junior concerto competition of the Young Artist World Piano Festival, he reached the finals two times (2009 and 2010), and he has performed twice at the Young Artist World Piano Festival Junior Honors Recitals. At Crocus Hill Studios, Michael enjoys listening to the music of his fellow musicians and supporting them in their musical endeavors.

Kaleen Tu, Student of Juan Li,
2:00PM-4:00PM, Akiko Ebi

Kaleen Tu is a junior at Wayzata High School. She first sat down at the piano at age seven; nine years later, her strong work ethic, discipline, and dedicated practice have paid off in her current skills as a pianist and musician. Kaleen has applied her musical talent to the violin as well as the piano. Although she has not had private violin instruction, she has made vast improvement in her technique. When she is not tickling the ivories or holding a violin bow in hand, Kaleen can be found with a badminton racket and birdie: badminton is her non-musical passion.

Henry Tiger Wang, Student of Alexander Braginsky,
2:00PM-4:00PM, Akiko Ebi

A seventh grader from Kellogg Middle School, Henry Wang first learned how to play the piano when he was five years old. Although piano started as a recreational hobby, he placed in state composition competitions at a young age and won the Clements Madden piano competition as a third grader. The fruits of his musical labor caused him to take his studies more seriously. Currently, he studies with Professor Alexander Braginsky and Dr. Tania Spector. His most recent musical accomplishment was winning first place in the Junior Division of the 2011 Rochester Music Guild scholarship competition. Someday, Henry hopes to play like Yundi Li and Horowitz. He puts a lot of time and effort into his practice every day. In addition to his passion for the piano, Henry really likes math and social studies and is a straight-A student. He is also a member of the Orcas swim club in Rochester, where he is being trained in the senior division.

Maximillian Wang, Student of Juan Li,
2:00PM-4:00PM, Akiko Ebi

Max Wang is currently a sophomore at Mounds View High School. He started playing the piano at age nine, and this is his seventh year as a pianist. His most recent musical accomplishment was winning the Northwestern Piano Festival in the senior division. Maurice Ravel is his favorite classical composer. Beyond his skill at the keyboard, he plays the saxophone and is a self-taught guitarist.
Outside of music, Max contributes to Mounds View’s athletic scene and excels academically. He is a varsity long-distance runner on his school's cross country and track teams, as well as a member of the varsity swim team. In the classroom, science and math are two of his strongest academic interests. Recently, he won third place in the National Brain Bee competition, a contest about neurology.