After winning the 2003 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, John Chen went on to win the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition.  At 18 years old, John was the youngest ever winner in the history of the Sydney International Piano Competition.

John has toured the world extensively since his Australian competition wins, and has recently seen the release of his recording for Naxos (featuring the complete solo piano works of Dutilleux).   

1999 winner Lance Coburn went on to win first prize in the Cologne International Piano Competition in 2001, and was recently appointed as Professor of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music, Dublin. 

Fourth Prizewinner in 1999 and 2001, as well as the 2001 award for 'Best Virtuoso Study in Round 1', Grace Kim has gone to numerous major international competition achievements.  These include 2007 Semifinalist, "Prix du Port", Rotterdam; 2006 Finalist, Trani International Piano Competition, Italy; Semifinalist, Scriabin International Piano Competition; 2005 Winner, Prix d'Harmonie, Rotterdam; Finalist, Grachtenfestival Conservatorium Concours, Amsterdam and 2004 Third Prize, Bellini International Piano Competition. 

Grace is currently based in Amsterdam.  For more information about Grace, visit her website.

2001 winner Liam Viney was recently awarded his Doctorate in piano performance from Yale University. He was awarded the prize for most outstanding piano student at Yale, and is now performing extensively in the USA. (including two-piano performances with wife Anna Grinberg). In 2004, at the age of 26, he was appointed to the faculty at the California Institute of the Arts, where he teaches piano and theory.

2005 Winner Hoang Pham was a recent finalist and prizewinner at the 2007 Bösendorfer International Piano Competition. 

Immediately after the 2005 competition, Hoang commenced at the Manhattan School of Music, New York, studying with Marc Silvermann. 

In 2006, Hoang returned to Australia to perform the opening recital for the Impresaria Piano Series in Melbourne, and a recital for the Kawai Keyboard Series in Brisbane.  During the 2007 season, Hoang will debut in the United Kingdom performing recitals in Birmingham, Norfolk, and London, and returns to Brisbane to perform the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 at the QPAC Concert Hall with the Queensland Youth Symphony.

Winner of the second prize at the 2001 Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, Andrea has since finished her studies at Yale University with Boris Berman, and remains resident in the USA, currently based in New York.  She enjoys an active performance schedule in the States, successfully taken part in a number of international piano competitions, and regularly returns to Australia to perform as soloist, most recently, with Sydney Symphony in 2007.

2003 Encouragement Award winner Jayson Gillham, at the age of 17, went on to reach the semi-finals of the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition.  In 2004, he was also awarded the national Hephzibah Menuhin Memorial Scholarship.  He followed this up by winning third prize in the 2005 London International Piano Competition, where he was the youngest competitor and the first Australian in the history of the competition to reach the finals.  As part of this competition, Jayson performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall, London.

To find out more about Jayson, visit his website.

Kristian Chong, Third Prize winner in 2005, has quickly established his career with performances throughout Australia, UK, China, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA and Zimbabwe.  Kristian has just completed his Masters Degree and Postgraduate Performance Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music with pianists Christopher Elton and Piers Lane. He was a recipient twice of the Dip. RAM, the academy’s highest performing accolade, the Walter MacFarren award for the best postgraduate final recital and the Dorothy Grimstead Memorial Award for the most outstanding returning postgraduate student amongst other awards.  In 2007, Kristian will give concerto, chamber and solo recitals in the UK, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Zimbabwe, and will return to Australia to perform with the Flinders Quartet, DuoDUAL and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

 To find out more about Kristian, visit his website.

Winner of Third Prize and the Audience Choice Prize in the first competition in 1999, William Chen has since enjoyed much international performance and competition success. 

William is currently Professor of Piano at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Second Prize winner in 2005, and Fourth Prize winner in 2003, Ke Lin has gone onto become a major prize-winner in every major piano competition in Australia.  In 2006, Ke performed at the Port Fairy Festival, Piano Landmarks concert series, and gave the opening gala recital for the Tyalgum Festival. 

Hoang Pham receives the award for Best Australian Pianist at SIPCA, 2008, from Claire Dan; Photo credit David Anderson, ABC SIPCA 08 website

Four past prizewinners from the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition have been selected for the Sydney International Piano Competition in July 2008.

David Fung (2nd Prize & People’s Choice Prize 2003), John Fisher (3rd Prize 2001) and Hoang Pham (1st Prize 2005) have been accepted as contestants, while John Chen (1st Prize 2003 and 1st prize winner in Sydney in 2004) will perform the opening recital.