Wenting Kang Wins Tokyo

NEC’s Wenting Kang ’12 M.M. Wins First Prize in Tokyo International Viola Competition

Wenting Kang, a native of Zhuzhou, China and a student of Kim Kashkashian, has won the Tokyo International Viola Competition, held May 26—June 3 at Kioi Hall in Tokyo. Kang, 24, who is scheduled to receive her Master of Music from NEC in December, won 1,000,000 JPY (about $12,700) as well as a custom crafted viola made and donated by Robert Blaszauer, of Budapest, Hungary. In addition, she will be invited to the 2013 Verbier Festival Academy in Verbier, Switzerland.  After being named the first prize winner, she performed in Winner’s Concerts in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

The second installment of the competition founded by the internationally admired violist Nobuko Imai, the Tokyo is the only Asian music contest to focus solely on the viola. It took place in conjunction with Viola Space 21, Imai’s annual festival which presents concerts and masterclasses in Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya. In the first installment of the competition in 2008, NEC Artist Diploma recipient, Dimitri Murrath, placed second. Jurors for this year’s event included Imai, Masao Kawasaki, Garth Knox, Thomas Riebl, and Jean Sulem. Contestants were required to play a selection of Bach Suites, Hindemith Sonatas, Brahms Trio, contemporary solo works, a new piece by Toshio Hosokawa, and the Bartok Viola Concerto.

Kang has been featured in numerous performances at the Conservatory this year. Having won the NEC Concerto Competition, she and violinist Grace Park were the soloists in Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante K.364, April 25, with the NEC Chamber Orchestra.  She played in the Mendelssohn Octet with the Borromeo String Quartet and the Trio Cléonice; performed Crumb’s Black Angels on an NEC Contemporary Ensemble concert coached by John Heiss; and was chosen to play on a Chamber Music Gala performance in Penderecki’s String Trio, also coached by Heiss.

For further information, check the NEC Website or call the NEC Concert Line at 617-585-1122.  NEC’s Jordan Hall, Brown Hall, Williams Hall and the Keller Room are located at 30 Gainsborough St., corner of Huntington Ave. St. Botolph Hall is located at 241 St. Botolph St. between Gainsborough and Mass Ave.

ABOUT NEW ENGLAND CONSERVATORY

Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader among music schools, New England Conservatory in Boston, MA offers rigorous training in an intimate, nurturing community to 720 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral music students from around the world.  Its faculty of 225 boasts internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars.  Its alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios, and arts management positions worldwide.  Nearly half of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is composed of NEC trained musicians and faculty.

The oldest independent school of music in the United States, NEC was founded in 1867 by Eben Tourjee. Its curriculum is remarkable for its wide range of styles and traditions.  On the college level, it features training in classical, jazz, contemporary improvisation, world and early music. Through its Preparatory School, School of Continuing Education, and Community Programs and Partnerships Program, it provides training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students, adults, and seniors.  Through its outreach projects, it allows young musicians to engage with non-traditional audiences in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes—thereby bringing pleasure to new listeners and enlarging the universe for classical music, jazz, and contemporary improvisation.

NEC presents more than 900 free concerts each year, many of them in Jordan Hall, its world- renowned, century-old, beautifully restored concert hall.  These programs range from solo recitals to chamber music to orchestral programs to jazz, contemporary improvisation, and opera scenes.  Every year, NEC’s opera studies department also presents two fully staged opera productions at the Cutler Majestic Theatre or Paramount Theatre in Boston.

NEC is co-founder and educational partner of From the Top, a weekly radio program that celebrates outstanding young classical musicians from the entire country. With its broadcast home in Jordan Hall, the show is now carried by National Public Radio and is heard on 250 stations throughout the United States.

Contact: Ellen Pfeifer
Public Relations Manager
New England Conservatory
290 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
617-585-1143
Ellen.pfeifer@necmusic.edu