2014-2015 Concerto Competition Award Recipients

Classical Category

Meagan Milatz

An accomplished pianist, Meagan Milatz began her piano studies in Saskatchewan at the age of five with Cherith Alexander. She progressed very quickly, completing her Performer’s ARCT diploma at the age of twelve. Since then, Meagan has gained much experience as both a soloist and collaborator. She was named the most outstanding competitor in the Grand Awards Competition at the Saskatchewan provincial music festival in 2011. She received second place at the National Music Festival in 2009 and third place in 2011. In 2009, she received second place in Piano Class B at the OSM competition in Montréal. Meagan won first place in her age category at the Canadian Music Competition in 2007, and was then chosen to perform as soloist with the Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra. She again appeared with orchestra this past January as winner of McGill University’s 2014 Classical Concerto Competition, and is scheduled to appear with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra in January 2016. 

Milatz came away with first prize in the CFMTA National Piano Competition in 2011, along with the opportunity to perform with the string members of the Gryphon Trio. Passionate as a collaborator, she has also performed with Andrew Wan, concertmaster of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, on several occasions. She has given various concerts as both a soloist and collaborator for the Regina Musical Club series. Milatz was recently awarded the top prize at the 2014 Shean Piano Competition, and also received the award for best performance of the test piece.

An avid learner, Milatz has participated in summer programs such as the Banff Centre, the Gijón International Piano Festival in Spain, and Morningside Music Bridge in both Calgary and Poland. She currently studies with Ilya Poletaev at McGill University, alongside fortepiano studies with Tom Beghin, and is the recipient of a Developing Artist Grant from the Hnatyshyn Foundation.

Ms. Milatz will perform at "la salle Joseph-Rouleau de la maison des JMC" on November 15th, 2015 at 2:30pm. She performed with the McGill Symphony Orchestra on January 23 & 24, 2015.


Piano Category

Geoffrey Conquer and Zhenni Li are the joint winners of the 2014-2015 McGill Concerto Competition (piano category).

Geoffrey Conquer

Geoffrey Conquer was born in Toronto in 1990 into a musical family and began piano lessons at the age of six. He studied for ten years with Svetlana Gojevic and at the age of 17, received the A.R.C.T. Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Since 2008, he has studied at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University in the class of the renowned Georgian pianist, Professor Marina Mdivani. Geoffrey Conquer holds a B.Mus. and M.Mus. and is currently pursuing
an Artist Diploma in Solo Piano Performance. He is the recipient of numerous scholarships, grants, and awards from McGill University and other arts organizations, and he has studied in master classes abroad with Lily Dorfman and Daniel Pollack. Geoffrey Conquer is a two-time First Prize winner of the McGill Symphony Concerto Competition, a Second Prize winner at the 2014 and 2015 Siegfried Weishaupt International Piano Competition in Germany, and a Laureate of the Canadian Music Competition.

Mr. Conquer performed with the McGill Symphony Orchestra on October 7th & 8th, 2015 in Pollack Hall.

Zhenni Li​Pianist Zhenni Li, hailed as “a magnetic pianist—with fire and poetry. Everyone should hear her” by music critic David Dubal, has performed throughout the United States, Europe and China, in notable concert halls including the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Morgan Library in New York, The Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles, The California Theater in San Jose, Théâtre de Vevey in Switzerland and the National Concert Hall in Tianjin, China. Ms. Li is a prizewinner of numerous competitions, most recently the unanimous 1st Prize at the Concours Musi- cal de France, and was in the final six at the renowned Concours Clara Haskil in Switzerland. She is also a top prizewinner of the International Russian Piano Competi- tion in San Jose, the Kosciusko Chopin Piano Competition and The Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition. Upon moving to the United States, Ms. Li enrolled in the Juilliard School, where she earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees on a full scholarship, under the tutelage of Seymour Lipkin and Joseph Kalichstein. She is currently on her first year of Doctorate Degree of Piano Performance with Dr. Stéphane Lemelin at Mcgill Schulich School of Music, after having recently pursued her Artist Diploma with Peter Frankl at Yale School of Music.

Ms. Li will perform with the McGill Symphony Orchestra on April 15th & 16th, 2016 and at the Chapelle du Bon Pasteur on April 24th, 2016 at 3:00pm.

 

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