Festival News

Introducing the Festival of International Young Artists (FIYA) at Hughes Hall

We are proud to present an inspirational mini-festival over the weekend of 12th-14th May 2023. Consisting of three concerts, the festival will showcase young artists at the cusp of widespread international recognition.

The festival has been conceived and curated by Naoki Toyomura, an alumnus and now a By-Fellow of Hughes Hall, with support from Dr Nigel Yandell, Hughes Hall Fellow and Director of Music. Naoki is a passionate supporter of aspiring musicians:

“The young people taking part in these events have already received international recognition and won important prizes on the international stage. They are at the beginning of very exciting careers. It is fantastic to be part of that, to help them showcase their immense talent, and to support them with what come’s next. Watch this space!”

“This festival also offers a very exciting personal opportunity for me. I am delighted to be returning to Hughes, and ‘giving something back’ to the vibrant music programme which I enjoyed so much during my time as a student. I am grateful to the College for hosting this festival and hope both College members and the wider community will enjoy the concerts these wonderful musicians are offering.”

This first festival will feature three young artists: Stephanie Tang (piano), BBC Magazine Rising Star and Guildhall Gold Medalist; Gabrielė Kupšytė (mezzo-soprano), Jette Parker Artist at the Royal Opera House; and Miclen LaiPang (violin), LGT Young Soloist and Stradivarius International Violin Competition Winner.

Dr Nigel Yandell leads the music programme at Hughes Hall and is delighted to add this exciting festival to the College’s annual music programme:

“We are incredibly grateful to Naoki for bringing this festival to life. Whilst our music events are usually free and open to everyone, we will be making a modest charge for the festival events to support the young performers. Our aim is to increase our involvement in the development of young musicians from around the world who show exceptional promise but are still at an early stage in their careers.”

Stephanie Tang, Gabrielė Kupšytė, Miclen LaiPang

For more

Further details: https://www.hughes.cam.ac.uk/about/events/fiya/
Eventbrite booking link: https://FIYA.eventbrite.co.uk
Music at Hughes: https://www.hughes.cam.ac.uk/applying/life-at-hughes/music/.
Events at Hughes: https://www.hughes.cam.ac.uk/about/events/

About the Performers

BBC Magazine Rising Star Stephanie Tang is a Chinese-American pianist establishing an active career in solo and chamber performance in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Europe. Her early career highlights include her solo debut in Carnegie Hall at age 12 and at sixteen, her orchestral solo debut with the West Covina Symphony Orchestra. She has appeared in major concert halls such as Carnegie Hall (New York), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), and Himalayan Concert Hall (Shanghai). Stephanie won the Guildhall Gold Medal, the school’s most prestigious music prize previously won by artists such as Jacqueline du Pre, Tasmin Little and Bryn Terfel. She won 1st prize at the Young Pianists’ Beethoven Competition, 2nd prize at the Louisiana International Piano Competition and the Jury’s Discretionary Prize at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Bronislaw Kaper Awards. Click here for excerpt.
Lithuanian mezzo-soprano Gabrielė Kupšytė is a member of the Jette Parker Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Her work in London has involved working with conductors such as Nicola Luisotti, Maxim Emelyanychev, Semyon Bychkov and Sir Antonio Pappano; and she made her debut in the National Opera House of her native country as Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), having been invited by the chief conductor, Sesto Quatrini. During her time at RAM, she was a recipient of the Carr-Gregor Trust Scholarship and the Isabel Jay Memorial Prize for Singing. She twice attended the George Solti Accademia, where she worked with Roberto Frontali, Barbara Frittoli, Grace Bumbry and Richard Bonynge. Click here for excerpt.
Violinist Miclen LaiPang is quickly establishing himself as one of the most exciting and versatile artists of his generation and has earned global recognition as a soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster. Acclaimed by the German newspaper Die Welt as “a musician of daring virtuosity with gripping access and noble elegance”, Miclen has performed in over 50 countries and has won multiple awards, including the Stradivarius International Violin Competition, Schoenfeld International String Competition, Grand Prize of the American Fine Arts National Competition, 1st Prize King’s Peak International Competition, 1st Prize of the American Music Talent Competition, and 1st and Special Prize at the International Moscow Music Competition, and the Bruno-Frey-Musikpreis.Miclen has recorded numerous CDs, including two with the LGT Young Soloists – the first issued by Sony Music in 2019 and a further one on the Naxos label featuring him as soloist in Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata arranged for violin and chamber orchestra. Click here for excerpt.

Programme

Friday 12 May, 7 pm to 9 pm – Stephanie Tang (Piano)

Missy Mazzoli: A Map of Laugher
Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit
Shostakovich/Toyomura: Symphony No. 5, mvmt 4 transcribed for piano

Saturday 13 May, 7 pm to 9 pm – Gabrielė Kupšytė (Mezzo-soprano), Nigel Yandell (Piano)

Henri Duparc: Four Songs (Phydile, Extase, L’invitation au voyage, Chanson Triste)
Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Abschiedslieder
Francesco Santoliquido: I canti della sera
Saverio Mercadante: La Stella
Balys Dvarionas: Žvaigždutė