Singaporean pianist Abigail Sin continues her winning streak at international competitions.
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory student Abigail Sin clinched first prize at the Viardo International Piano Competition in Dallas, Texas (USA) from 14 to 16 September 2007.
The second-year piano major beat 19 other participants in the junior category of the annual competition, which was founded by Vladimir Viardo, the renowned Russian pianist who took First Prize in the 1973 Van Cliburn Competition and who currently serves as Professor of Music and Artist-in-Residence at the University of North Texas.
This year's competition included contestants from Canada, China, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United States. Participants in the under 17 category were required to perform three rounds of solo piano music. Abigail Sin placed first in her category with her repertoire of Liszt, Debussy, Haydn, Ravel and Griffes. The jury featured eminent piano figures such as Viardo, Nelita True, Dang Thai Son, Michel Bourdoncle and Efrem Briskin.
Abigail Sin has placed first or second in no less than eight international competitions, including the Virginia Waring (USA), Krainev (Ukraine), Ibiza (Spain), Individualis (Ukraine), Asean Chopin Competition (Malaysia), Schimmel (USA) and Kaunas Festival (Lithuania).
This semester, Abigail Sin is on exchange at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore where her teacher Thomas Hecht, Head of Piano Studies at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, is taking part in a semester-long faculty exchange programme.