Young Scholars™ 2024-2026 UK

Chaeryeong, born in 2011, began playing the piano at the age of 6. She attended the Young Talented Music Academy at the Daejeon Art Center in Korea from 2020 to 2022.

Since 2022, she has moved to Austria with her family and received a scholarship from the Amadeus Music and Art Academy, attending the Amadeus International School in Vienna. She gained admission to the Course for Gifted Children at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst (MDW) Wien. She continues her piano studies at Yewon School in Korea and has been taught by Professor Soojung Shin, Mijung Shin (renowned as Shin-Bark Duo Clara Shin), and Hansol Noh.

At the age of 10, Chaeryeong was selected to perform on stage in a joint recital by the PoAH Piano Study Group. In Austria, she held her first solo recital at the Bösendorfer Salon in Vienna in 2023. Chaeryeong has showcased her achievements in many international competitions: the Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Szafarnia, Poland (2023.4), the 4th Robert Schumann International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Dusseldorf, Germany (2023.2), the Jenö Takács International Piano Competition in Austria (2022.10), and the Ettlingen International Piano Competition in Germany (2022.8). In February 2024, she achieved first prize and the Béla Bartók Special Prize at the Béla Bartók Competition in Graz, Austria. Through major piano competitions in Korea, Chaeryeong has consistently demonstrated her growth. She was awarded 2nd prize from Ewha & Kyunghyang, and 1st prizes from the HDC Youngchang, Yewon, Eumac Chunchoo, Liszt, Suri, Nanpa, and Seongjeong Competitions.

Chaeryeong has performed comfort concerts with great passion and love for elderly patients receiving hospice care in hospitals. She has also participated in concerts, including the Amadeus Festival in Vienna, concerto in the Robert Schumann International Competition in Dusseldorf, and the winners’ concert for the Jenö Takács International Competition in Graz, Austria. Her performances extend to the stages at the Korean Cultural Center for the New Year’s Eve Concert in Vienna, AMMA Concert in the Kempinsky Hotel in Vienna, St. Regis Hotel Tea Time Concert in Doha, Qatar, and concerto with the Classimo Philharmonic Orchestra in Daejeon, Korea. She was selected as a participating performer in the Daejeon Art Center Haydn Advent, the 39th Youth Music Festival, and the 6th Daejeon Youth Music Festival.

Deva Mira Sperandio (2007) starts to approach music and the piano with her mother, and at the age of 8 she enters the J.M.Gomis State Conservatory in Ontinyent (Valencia, Spain), where she has finished her studies in 2023. In the meanwhile she follows masterclass with Professor Juan Lago and Professor Istvàn Székely.

She is actually studying with a scholarship at the Yehudi Menuhin School of London with Professor Dinara Klinton, and she is recipient of an ArteMusica Stiftung (Frankfurt, Germany).

In 2018, at the age of 10, she makes her debut in a recital for young pianists at the Ciclo Amadeus Association under the artistic direction of Teresa Flores, and at the age of 13, thanks to the Piú Mosso Fundation, under the artistic direction of Ana Benedicto, she debutes in Madrid, in a recital at the Ateneo, and she repeats at the age of 15 at the San Fernando Museum of Fines Arts in Madrid in a recital at the presentation of the annual program of the foundation. In July 2022 she is invited to participate at the Festival de Jeunes Talents in Cannes (France). At the age of 14 she makes her debut with the Malaga String Orchestra in the F.Chopin Piano Concerto no2 (Allegro vivace), and at the age of 15 with the Conservatoire Band with the Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. She is also invited to play in 2023 the Beethoven Concerto no2 with the Caixa Ontinyent Orquesta under the direction of French cellist Xavier Gagnepain.

Deva has regularly participated in National and International Competitions with excellent results. Among more than twenty prizes we can find the 3rd Prize ex-aequo in the 30o International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Children and Youth in Szafarnia (Poland) and special prize of the Chopin Stichting foundation Holland, the 1st absolute prize in Orbetello International Piano Competition with a score of 100/100 and Special prize Jeunesses Musicales International Croatia, the 2nd prize at VII Internationa Béla Bartók Piano Competition and Special Prize Béla Bartók (Austria), finalist and special prize “Oustanding Achievement” at Entschede International Piano Competition (Netherlands), the 1st prize at the IX Concours International de Piano d’Orleans “Brins d’Herbe” and Special Prize ex-aequo for the best interpretation of the obligatory work (France), and 1st absolute prize and prize for the best interpretation of a Spanish composer’s work in XII International Piano Competition “Pequeños grandes pianistas” (Spain).

At the age of 14 she receives an invitation from the EMCY to participate in Epoche-f International 2021, where she plays with the Ensemble made up of 20 young musicians who have won prestigious international competitions from all over Europe at two contemporary music concerts in Germany, Deva being the youngest participant. Deva has also been awarded a scholarship to participate in the Cleveland International Piano Institute in summer 2023 (USA).

Deva has received advice from internationally renowned pianists such as Jerome Rose, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Fabio Bidini, Alexander Kobrin, Dina Parakhina, Edith Fisher, Dimitri Alexeev, Pavel Nersessian, Josu de Solaun, Eduardus Halim, Christopher Elton, Graham Scott, Pascal Nemirowski, Murray McLachlan and Misha Dacic between others.

Aidan Siqi Zhao, who is 12 years old, is studying at King’s College School in London and studying both piano and violin as the first instrument in the Royal College of Music Junior Department. Aidan was also a member of the National Children Orchestra. Aidan is grateful to the Eileen Rowe Musical Trust, which has awarded him scholarship towards his piano studies since 11 years old. Aidan is currently studying piano with Professor Ian Jones from RCM.

Aidan was interviewed by BBC News in 2021 about his music achievement. He has been invited to perform at various events and venues in the UK, such as TED Brum, Nottingham Lakeside Arts Centre, the Elgar Concert Hall, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Royal College of Music etc.

Aidan was awarded the Solihull Musician of the Year at the age of 8 in the Grand Final of Solihull Musical Festival, which is a high-profile music competition in the region. He is the youngest ever musician receiving this prestigious award and music scholarship. He passed ABRSM Grade 8 piano and violin exams with high Distinction marks at the age of 9.

Apart from playing piano and violin, Aidan enjoys playing Chinese Dulcimer under his grandmother’s tutorial. He was also taught to play accordion by his father and was the winner of Under 7 Class in the competition organised by the UK National Accordion Organisation.

During the pandemic lockdown in June 2020, Aidan successfully held an online fundraising concert for Solihull Young Carers, which raised more awareness of those young carers during that challenging period.

Julian Gong Jin Zhu was born in February 2011 in Newcastle. When he was 7, he started taking formal piano lessons with Graham Don. In September 2019, Julian joined Chetham’s School of Music, one of the foremost music schools in the UK. At that time he studied with Bingbing Li. Since January 2020, Julian has been studying with Helen Krizos.

Julian won the junior category of the Chethams’s Concerto competition, which are open to all instruments, at the age of 10. He was the only pianist selected in the school. As a result, he gave one public concerto performance in The Stoller Hall, Manchester. The performance of the concerto was in July 2022, when he performed Mozart 23rd Piano Concerto under the baton of Tom Redmond with the Chetham’s Sinfonia.

Julian has performed in many concerts in school and outside of school. In November 2021, he performed in a concert at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. Julian has played in Manchester Cathedral, St Peters Church in Congleton and The Wesley Church in Chester.

Competition successes include winning Gold in the 2021 SRIMF Piano Junior B Category. He won Gold in the London Youth Piano Competition in 2022. In November 2023,he won first prize in the EPTA Belgium W-B Competition. Julian won the Excellence Award for the LCM Newcastle and North East for the piano category. He also did his Grade 8 ABRSM for piano. He achieved 147/150 with full marks in his pieces.

Julian has also had the privilege to work with top musicians in either a lesson or masterclass setting. These include Murray McLachlan, Philip Fowke, Hilary Coates, Peter Donohoe, Sarah Nicolls, Martin Roscoe, Steven Osborne and Elizabeth Brauss.

Julian’s love for composition allows him to express his own style. In addition to his piano playing and composition, Julian takes pleasure in engaging in games of chess.