Prize
Winners in the 2008 Arizona Bass Players Festival Double Bass Solo Competition
Pictured here, left to right:
Alexander Jacobsen, third place
Chai-I Chen, pianist (holding the bass!)
John Sims, second place
Chunyang Wang, Grand Prize Winner
Chunyang
Wang, Grand Prize Winner
(of a Shen bass from Robertson's Violin Shop), is a student of bass at the Juilliard
School. His primary teacher right now is Tim Cobb. He was born in Harbin, China
in a family of musicians. He attended the National Music Conservatory of China
and the Interlochen Arts Academy. In 2003 he was accepted to Manhattan School
then the Juilliard School in 2005 with full scholarship. He won first place
in 2004 American Strings Teachers Association Linear Double Bass Competition
and was the Alternate winner of the 2003 Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition
at Manhattan School of Music. He is currently studying composition at Juilliard
with Philip Lasser . He also enjoys hanging out with friends, playing video
games, and is a die hard Houston Rockets fan.
Alexander
Jacobsen, Third Place,
is a senior at Albuquerque High School (New Mexico). He has performed with New
Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Fe Symphony, and the Albuquerque Youth
Symphony. He won first-place at the 2007 Santa Fe Pro Musica’s young artist's
competition, first place in the 2007 New Mexico Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota’s
young artist competition, and is a recipient of the Rose Thomas Smith Scholarship.
He is also an aspiring composer and conductor.
John
Sims, Second Place,
is a student of Catalin Rotaru at Arizona State University, School of Music.
