2008 Marimba Artist Competition Winners

The Classical Marimba League congratulates the winners of the 2008 Marimba Artist Competition! Three prize winners were selected from applicants hailing from 9 different countries. The CML is proud to present the 2008 award winners:

2008 Prize Winners

1st Prize - WeiChen Lin (Taiwan)
2nd Prize - Hiromi Shigeno (Japan)
3rd Prize - Arkadiusz Katny (Poland)

All winners have been awarded: an invitation to perform at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke Percussion Festival; live recordings of the concert; as well as, a new work commissioned by the CML specifically for this occasion.  WeiChen Lin has also been awarded a private recording session during the festival.

Information about the 2008 Prize Winners

1st Prize: 25 year old, WeiChen Lin was also recently awarded First Prize Winner of the 2007 PAS International Competition of Percussion in Italy; Second Prize Winner of the 2007 PASIC Marimba Solo Competition; as well as Semi-finalist of the 2006 International Marimba Competition in Linz, Austria.  He graduated from the Taipei National University of the Arts.  Currently, he is studying at the Boston University with Timothy Genis.

2nd Prize: 33 year old, Hiromi Shigeno was also recently awarded Third Prize Winner of the 2007 Universal Marimba Competition in Belgium.  She graduated from the Tokyo Gakugei University & from the TOHO Gakuen School of Music in Japan.

3rd prize: 18 year old, Arkadiusz Katny has also recently received awards during the International Katarzyna Mycka Marimba Academy and the NEXEduet International Marimba Academy.

New works composed especially for the winners:

Nils Rohwer & Jens Schliecker, prize winners in the 2007 Composition Competition, wrote “ConcorDance” for Marimba and Piano.

Anthony Green, Honorable Mention recipient in the 2007 Composition Competition, wrote “Les fleurs tristes” for Solo Marimba.

Phillip Hayner, Honorable Mention recipient in the 2007 Composition Competition, wrote “Lessons in Defeat” for Solo Marimba.

The Classical Marimba League Champions Concert at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke Percussion Festival was held on March 15th, 2008 [Tracy Wiggins, host].  The guest artist/clinician was Rutgers University professor of percussion She-E Wu.  The festival concluded with a special Saturday evening concert by winners of the 2008 Classical Marimba League Marimba Artist Competition.

Highlights of the Festival

March 14, 2008
7:30 pm - Solo Recital by She-E Wu

March 15, 2008
11:30 am - Tracy Wiggins Clinic "Starting the Percussion Ensemble"
1:00 pm - She-E Wu Clinic/Masterclass
4:30 pm - UNCP Percussion Ensemble
7:30 pm - Classical Marimba League Champions Concert

The Classical Marimba League would like to thank all who participated in the 2008 Marimba Artist Competition!  There were many wonderful marimbists.