NEC Preparatory School Student Seokyoung Hong Takes Top Prize and Audience Award at the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition
After 12 days of thrilling competition and a final concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra featuring conductor Valentina Peleggi at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, NEC Prep student Seokyoung Hong of South Korea won the $15,000 Bernice Gressman Meyerson First Prize and $500 Audience Award in the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition, with an additional $2,500 to apply toward furthering musical achievement, totaling $18,000 in awards.
During the prestigious competition’s final round, the 15-year-old performed Rachmaninov's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, op. 43." The finalists were selected from 248 applicants, representing 44 countries, and online viewership topped 1.2 million views in 122 countries, nearly doubling the 2019 Cliburn Junior total of 650,000 views.
Seokyoung Hong began his studies at NEC’s Preparatory School in 2022 with HaeSun Paik, co-chair of the College’s piano department and Prep faculty member. He has had several first or second-place finishes at international competitions in Korea, Switzerland, and the United States. Following two years at the Yewon School in his native Seoul, he moved to Boston to study piano at NEC Prep while also attending the Walnut Hill School for the Arts.
Seokyoung found inspiration from the two most recent winners of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, South Korea’s Yekwon Sunwoo and Yunchan Lim (an incoming NEC student and Cliburn’s youngest pianist to win gold), which was part of his motivation for taking part in the Cliburn Junior. Hong also hopes to develop his piano playing and artistry, as well as to build experience performing for large audiences.
“I hope to be a pianist that can remind and somehow transfer the audience’s own personal stories. From those reminded experiences, I hope they find happiness, relief and even nostalgia. Beyond thinking about the stories from the past, I also hope they can imagine lots of things while and after listening to my performance,”
Hong says on the Cliburn website.
“It has been an exceptional experience to guide Seokyoung for the past four years. He is already an extraordinarily accomplished pianist, but through this competition, I witnessed his creative, captivating artistry in his performances. I share his joy in this fantastic achievement, and look forward to continuing our musical journey together,” said pianist and Hong’s teacher, HaeSun Paik.
“At NEC Prep, we are proud to nurture, support, and train students of remarkable talent like Seokyoung,” said President Andrea Kalyn. “Seokyoung's journey is just beginning, and we look forward to watching him continue to thrive.”
HaeSun Paik teaches at both the Preparatory and College levels at NEC. Paik also teaches Katherine Liu, a 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholar.
Congratulations to Seokyoung Hong on this extraordinary achievement!