Information updated for 2024 Competition!
Every year, the Mika Hasler Competition recognizes musicians, 25 years old or younger. The Mika Hasler Competition Foundation is dedicated to encouraging young talented aspiring musicians to grow artistically, to perfect their musical abilities and to provide performing opportunities.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Mika Hasler Competition!
Gold Medal Winners: Wenlan Jackson – Violin and Zhengyi Huang – Piano
See the winner’s concert performances below.
Congratulations to the winners of the 11th Mika Hasler Competition!
Gold Medalist, Zachary Branden
Zachary Brandon, age 21, is a 2021 Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn Conservatory of
Music where he currently studies with Robert Lipsett.
Zachary was the 4 th place Laureate in the International Stradivarius Violin competition. He also
received top honors as the 4 th Prize winner in the Cooper International Violin Competition. He
was a two-time finalist and the Bach prize winner in the International Stulberg Competition. He
was a semifinalist in the International Princess Astrid Music Competition and finished in the top
six. Furthermore, he was a finalist and winner of The Elaine Louise Lagerstrom Memorial Award
at the FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra Competition.
Additionally, he was a semi-finalist in the Senior division of the 2018 Menuhin International
Violin Competition and also in the 2019 Concours musical international de Montréal. Zachary
will also be competing in the Elmar Oliveira competition in January.
Additionally, Zachary has collaborated with renowned concert pianist Jean Yves Thibaudet and
acclaimed oboist Ramòn Ortega. Zachary has also been invited to perform as a soloist with the
New World Symphony, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, the
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham-
Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Junior
Symphony Orchestra, and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra among others.
Zachary is the first place winner of numerous prestigious music competitions including the
following: the Walgreens National Competition, the Sejong National competition, the
Musicchorale competition, the Grandquest competition, all four divisions of the Society of
American Musicians competition, the Michigan Chapter of the ASTA competition, both divisions
of the Fort Wayne Young artist competition, Toledo Symphony’s young artist competition,
Kalamazoo Symphony’s young artist competition, Lansing Symphony’s young artist
competition, Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony’s young artist competition, Kalamazoo Junior
Symphony’s young artist competition, both the Junior and Senior divisions of the Confucius
competition, among others. He was named a National Young Arts winner in 2014 and again in
2016.
Zachary is also an avid chamber musician. He is currently a member of the Red Diamond Trio at
the Colburn Conservatory. Zachary, as part of Quartet Vibrante, won third place in the National
Fischoff Chamber Competition. His quartet also won second place in the International M-Prize
chamber competition. Zachary’s piano quartet, the Invictus Piano Quartet also won 3 rd place in
the International M-Prize Chamber competition. Zachary, as a part of Quartet Vibrante and
again as a part of the Invictus Quartet, has also taken second in the Pearl S. Barnett Chamber
competition. He has also advanced to the semifinals of the Fischoff National Chamber
competition twice with two different chamber groups and has advanced to the quarter-finals
four times with four different chamber groups.
Zachary has worked with a number of internationally recognized concert artists and pedagogues
including Maxim Vengerov, Gerado Rebeiro, Mattias Tacke, Brian Lewis, Simon James, Mageret
Pressley, William Vandersloot, Marilyn McDonald, Robert McDuffie, Mariam Fried, Ani
Kavafian, Wu Han, David Finckle, Clive Greensmith, Fabio Bidini, Ben Beilman, Masao
Kawasaki, Naoko Tanaka, and Slyvia Rosenberg among others. Zachary’s former teachers were
Dr. Roland and Almita Vamos, Dr. Hye-Sun Lee, Mrs. Renata Knific, Mrs. Audrey Lipsey, and
Mr. Jim Butler.
Silver Medalist, Jeremy Tai
Cellist Jeremy Tai has been recognized as an emerging artist of fierce energy, musical sincerity, and dynamic colors. At 22 years of age, he has already appeared with the Utah Symphony, Symphony Parnassus in San Francisco, the Palo Alto Philharmonic Orchestra, the University of California at Davis Symphony Orchestra, and the California Youth Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Tai made his solo debut at the Junior Bach Festival in Berkeley, California at age 10 and his national debut at the Music Teachers National Association Convention in New York City at age 14. In March 2015, Jeremy Tai was named an ambassador of the Doublestop Foundation.
Mr. Tai has played for esteemed musicians and groups such as Emmanuel Ax, Tamás Varga, Jian Wang, Zuill Bailey, Mark Kosower, Dover Quartet, Borromeo String Quartet, Israeli Chamber Project, Henschel String Quartet, Lee Trio, and Horszowski Trio.
Mr. Tai is an avid chamber musician, having most recently collaborated with the Escher String Quartet at a series of concerts as a part of Music in the Vineyards in Napa Valley, California. Additionally, he has appeared at Sid & Mary Foulger International Music Festival and Music@Menlo Chamber Music Institute. Mr. Tai is also one of the founding members of the critically acclaimed Konpeito Cello Quartet. In February 2015, the Konpeito Cello Quartet collaborated with cellist Matt Haimovitz and internationally best-selling children’s author Cornelia Funke on the renowned syndicated NPR radio program From the Top. Mr. Tai also appeared on the From the Top program as a featured soloist collaborating with pianist Christopher O’Reily.
The recipient of numerous honors and awards, Mr. Tai is the first prize winner of the Klein International String Competition, Music Teachers National Association National Strings Competition, Mondavi Center National Young Artists Competition, American Fine Arts Festival International Concerto Competition, and Music Teachers’ Association of California VOCE State Competition. Mr. Tai was chosen as a YoungArts National Finalist and a 2016 United States Presidential Scholar in Arts candidate.
Raised in Cupertino, California, Mr. Tai began his studies with Jonathan Koh at the age of nine and later entered Mr. Koh’s studio at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College. Mr. Tai, a full scholarship recipient from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, studied with Hans Jorgen Jensen and received his B.M. in Cello Performance. Mr. Tai currently studies with Paul Katz at New England Conservatory for his masters degree. Additional studies have included full scholarship to the Aspen Music Summer Festival with Richard Aaron and Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt, full scholarship to the Meadowmount School of Music with Jonathan Koh and Hans Jensen, Young Chamber Musicians with Susan Bates, Eric Chin, Debra Fong and Eric Gaenslen, and California Music Preparatory Academy with Jonathan Koh and Laura Gaynon.
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In this trying period when the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting us all, the Mika Hasler Competition Team would like to share with you some joyful moments through some special concert performances and competition highlights. We hope you will enjoy them! Stay safe!
Congratulations!
Congratulations to two of our past winners, Bensen Kwan and Arin Sarkissian for winning prestigious competitions this year.
Bensen Kwan is the Grand Prize Winner of the The Philadelphia International Music Festival’s 2020 Virtual Concerto Competition (link-Bensen) and Arin Sarkissian placed first in the Woodwind category of the Concours de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal (link-Arin).
In the news
Dean of UH and board of MHC Andrew Davis and Mika Hasler, at the Fredell Lack’s tribute, posing in front of work of art Symphonix (1991) by renowned artist Marc Rosenthal.
Symphonix, a painted steel artwork, is a gift from the family of Fredell Lack Eichhorn, distinguished violonist and eminent teacher, C.W. Moores Jr. Professor of Music, and recipient of the Esther Farfel ward (1983). In honor of her 50 years of devoted service to the University of Houston (1959-2009).
Congratulations to our Final 10 contestants!
From top to bottom, left to right : Chih-Yun Hsiao (piano), David Furney (piano), Emily Rees (flute), Emily Richardson (violin), Jeremy Tai (cello), Julianne Mulvey (bassoon), Nicholas Lindell (viola, photo by G.Rosenthal), Sarah Miller (cello), Zachary Brandon (violin) and Zhenyi Huang (piano).
Mika Hasler and MHC’s Honorary Chair Man Uri Pianka with legendary conductor Zubin Mehta.
Dean of UH and board of MHC Andrew Davis and Mika Hasler at the Fredell Lack tribute.
Uri Pianka and Mika Hasler with Yitzhak Perlman.
Pasadena Mayor Jeff Wagner with our 2018 & 2019 Gold Medalists Bensen Kwan and Arin Sarkissian. They will have the opportunity to perform in Pasadena’s sister City, Hadano, Japan.
Open House performance with Dr. Russel Kridel, Arin Sarkissian and Zhengyi Huang.
Please visit our tickets page to purchase tickets for any upcoming concerts.