Elinor Watson Bell Piano Competition and Fellowship
The family of Elinor Watson Bell, longtime patron of the arts and supporter of the School of Music, created the Elinor Bell Competition and Prize as a birthday gift to her in 1999. Elinor Bell was a prolific pianist and chamber music performer who studied with composer and pianist Ernst Krenek in the 1930s. Mrs. Bell and her family designed the prize to bring new levels of excellence in graduate piano performance at the School of Music. The winner of the annual Bell Prize receives the Elinor Bell Fellowship, a $15,000 award that may be used for any educational expense related to study at the School of Music, including tuition, fees, housing, travel for competitions, music or books.
Application deadline: Friday, February 1, 2008
- Elinor Watson Bell Piano Competition Application (PDF)
- Elinor Watson Bell Piano Competition Information (PDF)
- Elinor Watson Bell Piano Competition Guidelines (PDF)
Keyboard Faculty
- Lydia Artymiw, Distinguished McKnight Professor, Piano
- Dean Billmeyer, Associate Professor, Organ
- Alexander Braginsky, Professor, Piano
- Timothy Lovelace, Assistant Professor, Collaborative Piano
- Paul Shaw, Associate Professor, Piano
- Rebecca Shockley, Professor, Piano Pedagogy
Previous Winners
2007
Woobin Park
D.M.A. candidate in Piano Performance
Born in Seoul, Korea, Woobin Park earned a B.M. at Ewha Women’s University and a M.M. and P.D. from Indiana University in Bloomington where she studied with Shigeo Neriki and Edward Auer. While at Indiana, she served as the primary collaborative pianist for the studio of renowned cellist Janos Starker. Ms. Park has won a number of competitions, including the Korean Philharmonic Orchestra Competition, the Nan-pa and Se-jong Competitions, and the Los Angeles Liszt Competition which resulted in her 2007 American debut in Los Angeles. In 2007 she received Honorable Mention in the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition. She began her Doctoral studies in 2006 with Professor Lydia Artymiw.
2006
Andrew Staupe
D.M.A. candidate in Piano Performance
Andrew Staupe graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota in December 2005 with a B.M. in Piano Performance and a M.M. in Piano Performance in 2007 and has been studying with Lydia Artymiw since December 2001. In January 2006 he won first prize in the WAMSO Competition, resulting in a special appearance with the Minnesota Orchestra for its July 2006 "Sommerfest" opening concert. Staupe also will perform in four subscription series concerts with the Minnesota Orchestra in February 2008. He was the fourth prize winner in the 2007 Corpus Christi International Competition in Texas, and he has also won first prizes in the 2003 Schubert Club, Thursday Musical, Mechelke, and the University of Minnesota Concerto Competitions. Other concerto appearances include the St. Paul Civic Orchestra, the Bloomington Orchestra (MN), the Kenwood Symphony, and National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion.
2005
Seongwon Han
D.M.A. in Piano Performance, 2007
Born in Seoul, Korea, Ms. Han graduated from the Taegu High School of Music and Art having won first prizes in three competitions: the Shinil College Piano Competition, the Taegu Maeil Piano Competition and the Kyungsan Art Association Competition. She completed a B.M. at Yonsei University in Seoul as a student of Bangsuk Lee and earned her M.M. degree and her P.D. in Piano Performance at Indiana University in Bloomington while studying with Shigeo Neriki. Han studied with Professor Lydia Artymiw.
2004
Corey Hamm
D.M.A. in Piano Performance, 2005
Hamm has commissioned and premiered over 40 solo,
chamber and concerto works. He is a founding member
of the two piano, two percussion ensemble Hammerhead
Consort, which has been broadcast frequently on CBC Radio.
He taught for nine years at the Alberta College Conservatory
of Music and completed his D.M.A. in 2005 while studying
with Lydia Artymiw. Hamm is Assistant Professor of Piano
at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British
Columbia.
2003
Soo Hyun Cho
D.M.A. in Piano Performance, 2006
As the winner of the Junior Division of the World Piano
Competition of AMSA held in Cincinnati in 1988, Cho
presented solo recitals in London and New York. She
won second prize in the Han-Kook Music Competition
and third prize in the Chosun Music Competition, both in
Korea. In 2002 she earned her M.M. in piano performance
from Indiana University in Bloomington, where she was
a scholarship student of Menahem Pressler and Evelyne
Brancart. She studied with Lydia Artymiw.
2002
Stella Branzburg Sick
D.M.A. in Piano Performance, 2003
Born in Novosibirsk, Russia, Sick was awarded scholarships
to attend the Eastman School of Music, where she studied
with Nelita True and earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s of
Music degrees. She completed her D.M.A. degree while
studying with Alexander Braginsky. She is an assistant
to Professor Braginsky for the International Piano E-Competition
in Minneapolis.
2001
Juan Li
D.M.A. in Piano Performance, 2005
Li earned her Bachelor’s degree in music at Shanghai
Conservatory and her Master’s from the University of Notre
Dame. She has won many awards in her native China and
in the United States. She has presented concerts with
members of the Vienna Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony
and the Juilliard Symphony. She studied with Alexander
Braginsky.
2000
Wonny Song
D.M.A. in Piano Performance, 2005
Born in Korea and raised in Montreal, Song has already established an international career and has performed with such orchestras as the Minnesota Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Montreal Orchestra, and the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. Both first prize and grand award winner of the 2001 WAMSO Competition and winner of the 2003 Prix d'Europe in Canada, Song was also awarded first prize at the 2005 Young Concert Artists Competition in New York, his management for solo recitals, chamber music, and orchestral appearances from 2005 to 2009. His first solo CD for the Canadian label XXI-21 was released in 2006, and his recent concerts have been throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as in Tokyo, Japan. He holds degrees from the University of Montreal and the Glenn Gould Professional School in Toronto, and he studied with Lydia Artymiw from 1996 to 2006.
Updated 8-Jan-08
Last modified on July 2, 2007