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WIU graduate student Gwangwon Park, center, is pictured with the other competitors in the Atlantic Music Festival's annual piano competition.
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WIU School of Music Student Wins Prestigious National Piano Competition

August 17, 2018

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MACOMB, IL – Western Illinois University School of Music graduate student Gwangwon Park, of Macomb, was recently named the winner of the prestigious Atlantic Music Festival's (AMF) annual piano competition in Maine.

Acceptance into the summer program involves a video audition of at least three different works, with only 25 students accepted nationwide. A highlight of the one‐month music festival is a piano competition, open to all the festival's participants.

The first round of the piano competition required a 30-minute video, with the faculty selecting five finalists. The final round of the competition was presented live for the public and required a Beethoven sonata and a work written after 1950. The winner of the competition won a monetary prize and the opportunity for a solo recital the final week of the festival.

The scholarly climate of the Atlantic Music Festival is highlighted by the world‐class faculty from Juilliard, Eastman, Peabody, the New England Conservatory and the University of Michigan.

"AMF offered piano practice rooms to each student for four hours each day, but students often practiced more if there was an empty room," said Gwangwon.

His participation in this highly‐selective summer program was partially funded by a Performing Arts Society's Community Arts Grant and the WIU Graduate Student Research and Professional Development Fund.

"This success story is an example of what's possible when we challenge and support our students," said School of Music Director Tammie Walker, who is also Gwangwon's piano teacher. "Lifting up students such as Gwangwon lifts up our entire institution – he has brought national recognition to WIU and we are excited to see what is next in his bright future."

For more information on the WIU School of Music, visit wiu.edu/music.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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