Two OMTA collegiate students placed third in the 2022 MTNA – Stecher and Horowitz Two Piano Competition. The students are Joan Tay [Singapore/New Zealand] and Dasol Um [South Korea] from the University of Oregon. Both Joan and Dasol are doctoral students of OMTA member Dr. Claire Wachter. This national- level prize comes with a cash award of $1,000.00, divided equally between the two pianists.
BIOGRAPHIES
Dasol Um is a second-year DMA student in piano performance at the University of Oregon. Dasol won first prize at the Music Association of Daegu Competition (South Korea). In the United States, Dasol won the first prize at the Grand Valley State University Concerto Competition and earned second place in the Grand Rapids Youth Symphony Orchestra Competition in 2015. Dasol holds a M.M. in piano performance from Ithaca College, and a B.M. in piano performance from Grand Valley State University. Dasol is currently a doctoral candidate in the studio of Claire Wachter and a Graduate Employee in piano pedagogy and collaborative piano.
Joan Tay was the winner of the 2018 Oregon MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition. She was a finalist in the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Piano Concerto Competition and performed with the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra in the 2015 Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition Final. Joan received the “Outstanding Graduate Performer in Piano” and the “Best Accompanist” awards in 2019 from the UO School of Music and Dance. She has performed in public masterclasses for Jon Kimura Parker, Natasha Paremski, Jeffrey Kahane and Anton Nel. Joan holds a Master’s degree from the University of Oregon, and a BMus(Hons) from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Singapore. Past teachers include Dean Kramer, Albert Tiu and Michael Endres. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the studio of Claire Wachter and a Graduate Employee in piano pedagogy and collaborative piano.