The Classical Marimba League congratulates the winners of the 2010 Marimba Artist Competition! The CML is proud to present the three 2010 prize winners:

2010 Prize Winners

1st Prize - Sabrina Suk Wai Ma (Berlin, Germany)
2nd Prize - Mei-Shyuan Chiu (Taipei City, Taiwan)
3rd Prize - Setsuko Kutsuno (Boston, MA)

All winners have been awarded: cash prizes; an invitation to perform in recital at the Marimba 2010 International Festival & Conference; live recordings of the recital; as well as, a new work commissioned by the CML specifically for Sabrina Ma. 

Information about the 2010 Prize Winners 

1st Prize
Born in England on April 5, 1985, the Hong Kong native Sabrina Suk Wai Ma has been playing percussion for over 15 years. Her immense interest in everything percussive brought her to the University of Michigan, where she studied with Professor Michael Udow and received her Bachelor of Music with High Honors in 2007. Since graduation, she has participated in numerous international percussion competitions and received awards such as the Special Talent Award at the 2007 World Marimba Competition (Belgium), the Pustjens Prize at the 2008 Universal Marimba Competition (Germany), and Third Prize at the 2008 4ème Concours International de Vibraphone Claude Giot (France). Most recently, she won 1st Prize at the 2009 International Performers' Competition for Marimba (Brno, Czech Republic).

Sabrina Ma's vast musical interests lie not only in classical music, but also in jazz and pop. Ever since she moved to Berlin, she has immersed herself in the local jazz scene, taking lessons with jazz vibes virtuoso David Friedman and the imminent Franz Bauer while also savoring pop and improvised music with the band "Musik mit Herrn Karger." Her sensibility towards all kinds of music and her inexhaustible curiosity give rise to the unique touch and compelling sound that underscore her performances and perfectly complement her bold, passionate and honest expression on the marimba, her favorite instrument.

2nd Prize
Born in 1984 in Miaoli City, Taiwan, Mei-Shyuan Chiu first became involved in music when she joined a preschool music class at the Yamaha Music Classroom. In 1997, she was accepted and enrolled in the special music program of Chunan Junior High School. She participated in the Miaoli County Music Contest with the recommendation of piano teacher Ya-fen Kuo and won first prize the Youth Piano Category in 1999. She was also awarded honorable mention in the 2000 National Music Contest.

In 2000, Mei-Shyuan enrolled in the Department of Music in the High School Section of the Tainan National University of the Arts. Continuing to study percussion, she participated in many more contests, including the Asian-Pacific Cup in Taipei, the Kaohsiung Cultural Cup and several concerto competitions, where she won 1st prize. She also participated in concerto competitions on percussion outside of the school, studied chamber music, and participated in the Tainan City Symphony Orchestra after school. In 2005, Mei-Shyuan gave a solo recital at the Concert Hall of the Tainan National University of the Arts and won a scholarship for outstanding academic performance from the Yamaha Music Foundation of Taiwan. Later, she won a percussion position with the Taichung City Symphony Orchestra.

in 2008, Mei-Shyuan graduated from National Taipei University of Education and gave her solo recital. In the same year, she enrolled at the Graduate Institute of Orchestral Instruments, Taipei National University of the Arts, to pursue her master's degree, majoring in percussion under Zong Qing Ju, Pei Ching and Si Shan Wu.

3rd prize
Born in 1984 in Osaka, Japan, Setsuko Kutsuno began studying the piano at the age of 3 with her mother and marimba and percussion at the age of 13. In 2007, she earned her bachelor's degree from Kyoto City University of Arts in Japan. She graduated with top honors, receiving the Music Division Award and the Kyoto Musical Association Award. She has also received scholarships to study music at The Boston Conservatory and the Rohm Music Foundation since she came to the United States. Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Music degree at The Boston Conservatory majoring in marimba under the guidance of Nancy Zeltsman.

Kutsuno was the 2007 winner of the Competition for New Graduate Percussionists in West Japan and went on to receive First Prize in the National Competition. She was also a finalist at the 2009 National Young Artist Competition and 2009 Southern Caliufornia Marimba Competition. In the fall of 2009, she won first prize in the Marimba Category of the 7th International Competition for Percussdion Instruments and Drum Set in Fermo, Italy, hosted by the Italy Percussive Arrts Society. She has been awarded various other prizes in international competitions.

Kutsuno has been giving a great number of solo performances in Japan, the United States, and Europe. She was a guest artist and an ensemble coordinator at the 2008 Zeltsman Marimba Festival. During the festival, she appeared in two showcase concerts and also performed with Nancy Zeltsman and Jack Van Geem. She has been invited to some other music festivals such as the 2009 Magic Marimba Festival at the University of South Florida and the 2010 Southern California Percussion Festival as a guest artist.

In January 2009, she recored Daniel Levitan's new marimba duo, "Marimba Four Hands," with nancy Zeltsman. In January 2010, she also recorded Levitan's "Baroque Suite." The CD will be released in the spring of 2010.

Since May of 2009, Kutsuno has been an endorser of Encore Mallets, Inc.

The Classical Marimba League would like to thank all who participated in the 2010 Marimba Artist Competition!  There were many wonderful marimbists.  We encourage all to take part in the 2011 Competition.