Gulf Coast Steinway Society
2022 Winner’s Recital in NYC
Tuesday, June 7, 2022 7:30 PM
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Aleksey Brown started playing
piano less than a year ago when he
was five years old. Alek goes to
kindergarten and loves to dance,
play with his friends, swim and jump on
the trampoline. Alek is also quite talented in arts -
he draws really well.
Alison Strunk, 18 years of age, is
a homeschooled senior. At 6 years
old, she started piano lessons. The
following year she enrolled in violin
lessons. While Alison serves as first chair for the
Panama City Youth Orchestra, she also debuted
with the Panama City Symphony Orchestra this
year.
Azalea Kelley, 19, from New York,
has been studying with Dr. Hui-
Ting Yang at Troy University,
Alabama. She won First Prize
(Overall) in the Birmingham Music Club
Competition, the Texas International Chopin
Competition, and the International Young Artist
Piano Competition, and top prize in the 20th New
York Music Competition.
Becca Harrison plays the piano.
At the age of 14, she received the
Vero Beach Opera Piano
Scholarship, allowing her to study
with Dr. Marcos Flores for four years. She is
currently pursuing a B.M. in music performance at
Florida State University, studying with Dr. David
Kalhous.
Timothy Berry is in his senior year
at the University of Alabama,
studying under Dr. Kevin Chance.
Timothy has won awards in
numerous competitions including Music
Teachers National Association and the Huxford
Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. In
addition to solo performance, he also enjoys
collaboration, teaching piano, and studying
musicology.
Carson Campbell is a rising junior
at Mercer University, majoring in
Piano Performance under Ian
Altman’s instruction. He is
originally from Decatur, Alabama.
Carson studied piano in high school with Margery
McDuffie Whatley at Birmingham Southern College.
Carson’s future plans are to perform and teach at
the collegiate level.
Catherine Hinson lives in
Birmingham, Alabama and attends
the Indian Springs School. At the
age of six, Catherine began taking
violin lessons, and a year later started
learning how to play piano. Catherine has
continued to play both instruments and is also a
member of the Alabama Symphony Youth
Orchestra.
Described as able to “inhabit” music
by noted American composer Libby
Larsen, Chase Romans is an
active saxophonist who is a native
to Biloxi, Mississippi. Chase has
received lessons and masterclasses from noted
saxophonist such as Lawrence Gwozdz, Dannel
Espinoza, Otis Murphy, and the Ráscher Saxophone
Quartet. Chase Romans has performed in cities
across the United States and in Germany and
Japan.
Cole Mogharrebi began playing the
violin at the age of nine and
immediately fell in love with the
instrument. His favorite music is the
Baroque Period and he especially
enjoys playing pieces by J. S. Bach. He is a
member of the Louisiana Youth Orchestra and is
currently the Concertmaster. Cole hopes to pursue
a double major in music and mathematics at the
college level.
Daniel Bae, 12 years old. He started
piano when he was 9 from his
mother. He quickly overcame the
difficulties of the piano. He currently
studies with Haein Kim. He has won
many awards in piano competitions. He likes
matching cubes and computer games. Also he
belongs to The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented
Youth(CTY) at an advanced level.
Raymond Hou, 16, a junior in LAMP
in Montgomery, Alabama, studies
piano with Ronald Shinn. He won 9
international and 18 first-place
awards in piano competitions. Raymond
also studies violin with Sven Stucke. He was the
first-place winner of Alabama MTNA violin
competition and the concertmaster of Montgomery
Youth Orchestra.
Hunter Wittenborn is a junior at
Daphne High School. He started
playing piano the summer of his
seventh grade year, studying under
Lacey Schrand, followed by Evelyn
Schrand. He currently studies under Steinway
Artist Robert Holm, while also performing in other
activities such as tuba in his high school's band.
Richard Chen, age 14, is attending
Baldwin Middle Magnet School as an
8th grader in Montgomery, Alabama.
The piano has been a core subject of
his life since he was a toddler, barely
being able to reach the keys. He also incorporates
cross country, tennis, and guitar into his subjects
of interest.
Sophia C. Haines is a 15 years old
nationally / internationally
recognized wildlife conservationist
photographer. Recently she was
awarded at the Steve Irvin, Australia Zoo
Photography Exhibit. She started piano at age 10
and since then music has been an integral part of
her life. She took part and received awards in
many music competitions.
Timofei Kunin studies at the
Southeastern Louisiana University,
and has been interested in exploring
different genres of music for more
than 14 years. All of the experience,
practice, and contribution of wonderful teachers
has contributed to his winning various international
competitions.
Yolanda Ni is a violinist from
Mississippi. She currently studies
with Jan Sloman and has received
top prizes in competitions such as
the GCSS Concerto Competition from
2019-2022 and Music Teachers National
Association (MTNA) in Mississippi in 2018 and
2021. She has also participated in various
international festivals such as HeifetzPEG (2019)
and Semper Music (2017).