Five Yong Siew Toh Conservatory students clinched the top prizes in their categories at the 2007 National Piano & Violin Competition organised by Singapore’s National Arts Council.
Fourth-year student Cao Qi won first prize in the Violin Artist Category with her performance of Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1 at the finals of the Artist Category on 13 November 2007.
Two Conservatory piano majors were also prize winners in the Piano Artist Category - Kwon Cheo Yong won second prize and Cheng Shih-Wei was placed third in the finals on 14 November 2007.
Second-year student Alan Choo won second prize in the Violin Senior Category (no first prize was awarded in this category) and Zhang Aidi (from the Conservatory’s Young Artist Programme) received first prize in the Piano Intermediate Category.
The biennial National Piano & Violin Competition provides opportunities for young musicians to develop their performing skills and to perform before an international panel of adjudicators. The Competition received 274 entries this year - 183 for piano, 91 for violin.