******************************************
The Home Affairs Bureau has congratulated Hong Kong young pianists Aristo Sham Ching-toa and Rachel Cheung Wai-ching on their success in international competitions.
Sham won first prize in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition in Salt Lake City in the United States on June 22, and Cheung took second prize in the Alessandro Casagrande International Piano Competition in Italy from May 28 to June 8.
The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition is one of the four international piano competitions in the US which attracts the finest international pianists. It aims to promote the pianistic art and assist the development of young pianists.
Sham is currently a primary six student and a junior student at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts with a double major in Piano, Composition and Computer Music Technology. He beat 33 top young pianists from around the world. Aristo also has credentials of winning a number of international prizes, including gold in the 6th Chopin International Competition in Asia (Japan), the championship in Group A of the 69th Steinway International Children and Youth Piano Competition (China Regional final) in Beijing, the championship in the Mozart Sonata group of the 3rd Asian Youth Music Competition in Shanghai, and first prize in category A at the Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists 2006 in Germany.
Rachel Cheung was awarded the second prize in the Alessandro Casagrande International Piano Competition. It is one of the few international piano competitions in Italy to be part of the prestigious World Federation of International Music Competitions in Geneva. Cheung was the youngest of the 26 competitors and the only Asian among the three finalists.
She is studying music with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Previously, she has also won the first prize in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition in 2004 and the International Competition for Young Pianist in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz in 2003.
Ends/Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:00
NNNN
