Two Cincinnati Laureates

Kim, Namirovsky Take Second and Third Prizes in Cincinnati Competition

NEC congratulates two doctoral piano students JinUk Kim ’10 G.D. ’14 D.M. and Misha Nemirovsky ’14 D.M. who won second and third prize respectively in the Cincinnati World Piano Competition, July 8—13. JinUk, who studies with Wha-Kyung Byun won the $15,000 prize and Misha, who studies with Hung-Kuan Chen won $10,000. (Kim, left, and Namirovsky, right, flank winner Marianna Prjevalskaya  in photo)

The Competition, which is celebrating a new strategic alliance between the World Piano Competition (WPC), the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), is headed by Artistic Director Awadagin Pratt and Executive Director Mark Ernster. Members of the CSO, led by Associate Conductor Robert Treviño, served as the orchestral forces for the final concerto rounds of the competition.

JinUk Kim, South Korea

Pianist Jin Uk Kim’s playing has been described by The Washington Post as a “victory in itself.” A multiple award winner, Mr. Kim most recently received first prize honors at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition and second prize at the William Kapell International Piano Competition. He has also earned top prizes at the Corpus Christi International Competition, as well as at major Korean competitions. He has been a featured performer on NPR’s Performance Today and WQXR’s McGraw-Hill Companies Young Artists Showcase.

Mr. Kim has performed widely as an orchestral soloist both in the United States and South Korea, with appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra and the Music Academy of the West’s Festival Orchestra. Mr. Kim debuted with the New Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of ten and made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in November 2012.

Misha Namirovsky, Russia

Misha Namirovsky has performed as soloist in the USA, Italy, Russia, Spain, Croatia, Germany and Japan. He has collaborated with the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan, Novaya Rossiya Symphony and Nizhniy Novgorod Philharmonic in Russia and has appeared at the Marlboro festival. He is a founder of ModЭTRE, a piano trio with violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Deborah Pae.

Mr. Namirovsky has studied in Moscow, Israel, Germany and the USA, and holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Yale University. He is currently completing his doctorate at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Mr. Namirovsky is a prizewinner of many international competitions including Louisiana International Piano Competition as well as the Koscuisco and Sendai Competitions. His first album is due to be released in the summer of 2013.