Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition
# Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition

The Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition (also known simply as the Cooper International Competition) is a piano and violin competition held annually at the Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It is sponsored by Thomas and Evon Cooper and is presented jointly by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Orchestra. The competition is for young musicians 13–18 years of age and awards more than $35,000 in prize money, with a first prize of $20,000. The competition gives three finalists the opportunity to play a complete concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra. The competition debuted in the summer of 2010 with a piano competition, followed by a violin competition in 2011, and the competition alternates annually between both instruments. George Li won the first prize in the first piano competition and Sirena Huang won first in the first violin competition.

## History

The competition originated as the Oberlin International Festival, first organized by Emeritus Professor Joseph Schwartz in 1985. In 1995, Professor Robert Shannon became the director and the first annual Oberlin International Piano Competition was launched. In 1999, Yeol Eum Son won 1st prize. By the time of its final edition, it gave the winners opportunities to perform with leading orchestras in China, such as the Shanghai Philharmonic. In 2009, the competition was not held due to renovations of the concert hall. In 2010, a new competition named after sponsors Thomas and Evon Cooper replaced it. Since then, the competition holds its final rounds with the Cleveland Orchestra in Severance Hall. In 2016, the competition doubled its prizes to a $20,000 first prize.

## Prize winners

### Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition

| Year | 1st prize | 2nd prize | 3rd prize | 4th prize | 5th prize | 6th prize |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 (piano) | George Li | John Chen | Kate Liu | Sahun Hong | Anna Han | Tristan Teo |
| 2011 (violin) | Sirena Huang | Alexandra Switala | Laura Park | Mayumi Kanagawa | Gergana Haralampieva | Kelly Talim |
| 2012 (piano) | Leonardo Colafelice | Xiaoyu Liu | Micah McLaurin | Sahun Hong Annie Zhou | not awarded | Sarina Zhang |
| 2013 (violin) | Ching-Yi Wei Kyumin Park | Ming Liu | not awarded | Gallia Kastner | Jieming Tang | Angela Wee |
| 2014 (piano) | Tony Yike Yang | Zitong Wang | SaeYoon Chon | Gyu Tae Ha | Evren Ozel | Min Jun Lee |
| 2015 (violin) | Gallia Kastner Belle Ting | Joshua Brown | not awarded | Karisa Chiu | Alice Lee | Maya Buchanan |
| 2016 (piano) | Ryota Yamazaki | Evren Ozel | Nathan H. Lee | Chaewon Kim | Andrew Li | Clayton Stephenson |
| 2017 (violin) | Johan Dalene | Christina Jihee Nam Qing Yu Chen | not awarded | Zachary Brandon | Maya Anjali Buchanan | Kiarra Saito-Beckman |
| 2018 (piano) | Tony Siqi Yun | Kai-Min Chang | Yunchan Lim | Ryan Zhu | William Chen | William Yang |
| 2019 (violin) | Eric Charles Chen | Shihan Wang | Isabella Brown | Jin Yucheng | Yiyang Hou | Enrique Rodrigues |

### Oberlin International Piano Competition

| Year | 1st Prize | 2nd Prize | 3rd Prize | 4th Prize | 5th Prize | 6th Prize |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1995 | | Gloria Chien | | | | |
| 1996 | | | | | | |
| 1997 | | | | | | |
| 1998 | Hyo-Sun Lim | | | | | |
| 1999 | Yeol Eum Son | Marko Pavlovic | | | | |
| 2000 | Ying Li | Tian Tian | Esther Park | | | |
| 2001 | Darret Zusko | Eun Taek Kim Ji Yeon Shin | | | | |
| 2002 | Jung Lim Kim | Jeanette Fang | Martin Leung | | | |
| 2003 | Rachel Naomi Kudo | Kevin Kordi | Ye Jin Lee | Sarah Oh | Kei Neidra | |
| 2004 | Wang Da | Sejoon Park | Sun-A Park | Kei Neidra Hyo Kyun Shin | Ying Cheng Yang | |
| 2005 | Ruoyu Huang | Sun-A Park | Fangzhou Feng | Hanmo Qian | Vicki Ning Wang | |
| 2006 | Rui (Ellen) Wang | | | | | |
| 2007 | Yuqing Meng | Minsoo Hong | Yunqing Zhou | Xiao Pei Xu | Chai Yu Jen | John Choi |
| 2008 | Junle Li | George Fu | Wanting Zhao | Eunjin Bang | Jae Young Kim | Dong June Kim |
