💙 Our Goal:

We are excited to announce the winners of the second Do Re Mi International Music Competition! Only open to Do Re Mi tutors, our aim is to recognize students for their outstanding musical abilities and provide valuable feedback to all applicants. Special thanks to this year's judges—Karla Donehew Perez, Spencer Myer, Robert Rearden, and Susanne Mentzer—for their support.

​🎼 2024 Winners

BIPOC COMPOSER PERFORMANCE AWARD
Hrishikesh Venkatesh, KS (Viola)

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PIANO - SPENCER MYER
Grand Prize: Kate Moore, NY
2nd Prize: Rei Fukuoka, NY
3rd Prize: Vivian Kao, CA
Honorable Mention: Brian Ou, NY


STRINGS - KARLA DONEHEW PEREZ
Grand Prize: Juhee Kim, NY (Viola)
2nd Prize: Emma Zou, MD (Viola)
3rd Prize: Kenneth Yao, TX (Viola)
Honorable Mention: Abigail Regua, CA (Violin)


WINDS/BRASS - ROBERT REARDEN
Grand Prize: Abby Maher, OH (Clarinet)
2nd Prize: Sam Waspe, OH (Flute)
3rd Prize: Alice Yaran Hu, FL (Flute)
Honorable Mention: Samantha Wang, NC (Flute)


VOICE - SUSANNE MENTZER
Grand Prize: Mel Dreizen, CT
2nd Prize: Ella Wang, NY
3rd Prize: Janessa Montilla, FL
Honorable Mention: Lalima Sharan, FL

🧑‍⚖️​ Judges

Karla Donehew Perez

VIOLIN

Admired for her “luscious melodies” (New York Concert Review) and enlightened programming, violinist Karla Donehew Perez is a founding member of the GRAMMY-winning Catalyst Quartet as well as an acclaimed soloist, educator, and creative collaborator with numerous world-class artists and ensembles. She has performed as a soloist with multiple major U.S. orchestras and chamber ensembles, earning honors including an MPOWER Grant from the Sphinx Organization, as well as grants from Chamber Music America and New Music USA. She is currently a professor of violin studies at the Longy School of Music of Bard College.
With the Catalyst Quartet, Donehew Perez has toured widely, appearing alongside major ensembles and performing at such venues as the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. International engagements have brought them to South Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Cuba.

Donehew Perez has hosted numerous collegiate-level residencies or masterclasses at such institutions as Cornell University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has taken part in festivals including Chamber Music Northwest, Aspen Music Festival, Vail International Dance Festival, Encore Chamber Music and Music in the Vineyards.

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Spencer Myer

PIANO

Lauded for "superb playing" and "poised, alert musicianship" by the Boston Globe, and labeled "definitely a man to watch" by London's The Independent, American pianist Spencer Myer is one of the most respected and sought-after artists on today's concert stage.
Myer’s recital appearances have been presented in New York City’s Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y and Steinway Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and London’s Wigmore Hall, while his orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia.
His career was launched with three important prizes: First Prize in the 2004 UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa, the 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pianists Association and the Gold Medal from the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition. 
Myer is a Steinway Artist; since 2017, he has released four recordings on the Steinway & Sons label: Piano Rags of William Bolcom, and three discs with cellist Brian Thornton encompassing repertoire of Brahms, Debussy and Schumann. In the Fall of 2022, Steinway Classics released “Chopin: The Four Impromptus”; the album is available worldwide through all download and streaming services.
Myer is currently Associate Professor of Piano at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

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Robert Rearden

HORN

Robert Rearden joined the National Symphony Orchestra in 2016. He served as principal horn of the Florida Orchestra from 2010 to 2016 and was a member of the New World Symphony from 2006 to 2010. He has performed regularly as a guest musician with the Cleveland Orchestra since 2004, including multiple recordings and tours of Europe, Asia, and the U.S., and was a long-term substitute with the orchestra in the 2014-2015 season. Rearden has performed as guest principal horn with the New York Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Rearden has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, All-Star Orchestra, Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and with the Mainly Mozart, Britt, Artosphere, Steamboat Springs, Spoleto USA, and Eastern music festival orchestras.
He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina and earned a Master of Music degree and artist diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He was a fellowship recipient at Tanglewood and the Aspen Music Festival. He was a featured artist at the 2017 Southeast Horn Workshop. Rearden teaches horn at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

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Susanne Mentzer

VOICE

American mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer has established herself not only as an international singer but also as a writer, teacher and arts advocate. Her stellar singing career encompasses 42 years in nearly every major opera company, orchestra and recital organization. In 2016 she joined the faculty of SFCM after 12 years in academia as a Tenured Professor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and Associate Professor at DePaul University in Chicago. She teaches this summer at the TaosOpera Institute and the Napa Festival. As a recitalist, Susanne has appeared on the Great Performers series at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie’s Weill and Zankel halls, Kennedy Center, Spivey Hall Atlanta, Schwartz Hall at Emory, Santa Fe Concert Association, Aspen Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Ann Arbor University Music Society, and more.

​She received her Bachelor and Master degrees from The Juilliard School and was trained in the Houston Opera Studio, studying with Rose Bampton and Norma Newton, respectively. Her outspokenness about vocal health has earned her the VERA Award 2013 (Voice Education Research Awareness) from The Voice Foundation. She received the Alexian Brothers USA Thelan Award for her help raising over one-million dollars through gala concerts for the AIDS cause in Chicago and continues to participate in charitable events. Susanne is also a writer and contributed regularly to the Huffington Post where her essays are still accessible.

💙 How is this Competition Possible?

Thank you to our generous parent donors for sponsoring our international music competition!
To make a tax-deductible donation, visit our GoFundMe.

Previous Winners

See 2023 International Competition Winners Here!