Jury members

Internationally acclaimed pianist and Yamaha Artist Nikita Fitenko has performed recitals and with orchestras in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Asia, and South and North America. He has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as St. Petersburg Capella Symphony, Russian Chamber Philharmonic, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow, St. Petersburg State Conservatory Orchestra, State Hermitage Orchestra, Slovak National Philharmonic, Corvallis Symphony Orchestra, Lewisville Symphony, Rapides Symphony, and Northwestern Symphony Orchestra among others. While performing a wide and diverse repertoire, Nikita Fitenko is an acknowledged master of Russian piano music. His CDs for Altarus Records of complete piano works by leading contemporary Russian composers Georgy Sviridov and Sergei Slonimsky have garnered rave reviews from the international music press. Fanfare Music Review wrote, "Fitenko plays magnificently!" Slonimsky himself described Fitenko's interpretation of his piano music as "outstanding." He also added, "It is very vivid, imaginative, virtuosic, fascinating, and pianistically brilliant." Mr. Fitenko's recording of Scriabin's Piano Concerto with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow was released internationally on Classical Records label. His latest recordings of works by Bach, Beethoven, Mussorgsky, and Rachmaninov as well as ‘All Tchaikovsky CD’ for Classical Records were released in 2015 & 2017 (all recordings are available through Amazon & iTunes).

Joel Harrison has been President/CEO of the APA since 2008 and Artistic Director of the APA since 2001. He was previously a faculty member at Davidson College in North Carolina and at Mississippi State University, where he was also director of the Mississippi Piano Showcase and a Touring Artist for the Mississippi Arts Commission. His duties at APA include the oversight of all artistic programs, most especially the American Pianists Awards, relationships with collaborative organizations, strategic planning, staff development and oversight, Board communications, community and external relationships, fundraising, and representing APA to a national and international constituency.

Stanislav Ioudenitch has garnered notable successes in music competitions including the gold medal at the XI Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001. The Van Cliburn Competition launched a career that has taken Ioudenitch around the world for appearances with major orchestras in many of the world’s important musical venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Fort Worth’s Bass Hall, the Gasteig in Munich, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, Mariinsky Concert Hall, the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Oriental Art Center in Shanghai, and the “Forbidden City” Concert Hall in Beijing. He has appeared at major festivals including the International Piano Festival of La Roque d’Anthéron in France, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Ruhr Music Festival in Germany.

Accomplished pianist and teacher Yong Hi Moon made her solo debut with the Seoul Philharmonic at age 10 as winner of the National Korean Broadcasting Competition. Moon has won top prizes in the Elena-Rombro Stepanow Competition in Vienna, the Viotti International Competition in Vercelli, Italy, the Vienna da Motta Competition in Lisbon, Portugal and received the Chopin Prize from the Geneva International Competition in Switzerland. Moon performs extensively throughout Asia, Europe and the US as recitalist and soloist, having appeared with the Osaka, Seoul, Tokyo, Philharmonics, and the Korean National Symphony. In 1975, the South Korean government invited Moon to participate in a festival for the 30th anniversary of the Korean liberation, and she continues to maintain a strong performing and teaching presence in her native country. In 1991, she was invited to participate in a cycle of the complete Mozart piano concerti with the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, commemorating the composer’s bicentennial year. In 1997, Moon performed the complete solo piano works of Schubert in six recitals in both Korea and the US. In the summer of 2000, she made her first extensive concert tour of Korea, including solo recitals in five cities, as well as performances with the orchestras of Kwangju and Daejun.

Pianist Tamás Ungár has earned worldwide acclaim for his powerful performances and innovative programming. A regular guest artist at numerous music centers in the United States, he also performs and teaches frequently all over the globe. Between the 2006 -2014 seasons he performed over 70 concerts in America, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Romania, England, Taiwan, The People's Republic of China, Korea and Japan. Some of the highlights of those seasons include performances with the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra, performing as soloist/conductor of Mozart Piano Concertos at the University of Leeds, as Artist-in-Residence and a return visit to present a solo recital and master class series at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.