💙 Our Goal:
We are excited to announce the winners of the third 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—Sibbi Bernhardsson, Aya Higuchi Hagelthorn, Rachel Brake, and Susanne Mentzer—for their support.
🎼 2025 Winners
STRINGS - SIBBI BERNHARDSSON
Grand Prize: Ruochen Xu, WA (Violin)
2nd Prize: Chanmin Park, TX (Cello)
3rd Prize: Elizabeth Wnek, MD (Violin)
PIANO - AYA HAGELTHORN
Grand Prize: Jason Nam, WA
2nd Prize: Steven Harris, TX
3rd Prize: Clara Chen, PA
WINDS/BRASS/PERCUSSION - RACHEL BRAKE
Grand Prize: Rachel Jiang, TX (Flute)
2nd Prize: Samantha Wang, NC (Flute)
3rd Prize: Alice Lee, MD (Oboe)
VOICE - SUSANNE MENTZER
Grand Prize: Ella Wang, NY
2nd Prize: Mia Widdowson, CA
3rd Prize: Torben Heinbockel, MD
🧑⚖️ Judges
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Sibbi BernardssonVIOLIN
Icelandic violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson joined the Oberlin Conservatory faculty in 2017 after performing for the previous 17 years with the Pacifica Quartet, with which he won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance, Musical America Ensemble of the Year honors, and the Avery Fisher Career Grant.
As a member of the Pacifica Quartet, Bernhardsson appeared in more than 90 concerts worldwide each year, including engagements in Wigmore Hall (London), the Vienna Konzerthaus, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall (New York), and other major venues. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival, Ravinia, Music@Menlo, and the Reykjavík Arts Festival, and has collaborated with Menahem Pressler, Yo-Yo Ma, Jörg Widmann, Lynn Harrell, Leon Fleisher, the Emerson String Quartet, Johannes Moser, and members of the Guarneri and Cleveland quartets. His television appearances include The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, and the MTV Europe Music Awards with Icelandic artist Björk. He appears on 16 recordings with the Pacifica Quartet and has recorded the violin music of Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson and the sonatas for violin and piano by Franz Schubert. Bernhardsson serves as director of the Cooper International Violin Competition at Oberlin and as artistic director of Iceland’s Harpa International Music Academy. He gives regular concerts and master classes in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has appeared as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, and other ensembles. |
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Aya Higuchi HagelthornPIANO
Aya Higuchi Hagelthorn serves as the Director of Collegiate Class Piano and Coordinator of the Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program at the University of Michigan. She also contributes her expertise as a member of the College of Examiners at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Hagelthorn’s musical journey has taken her to Japan, Italy, Prague, and the United States, where her solo and collaborative performances have been warmly embraced. Beyond performing, she is an active researcher in piano pedagogy, presenting her findings at various local and national conferences. In her teaching, Hagelthorn focuses on solving technical problems and bringing expressive insight from both theoretical and historical perspectives. She is also adept at integrating technology into her organizational roles, enhancing the effectiveness of her educational programs. Her recordings of Chopin’s piano compositions have been featured in films, documentaries, and educational productions, and can be found on MuseOpen.org and IMSLP.org. Hagelthorn holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano with a minor in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan. Aya Higuchi Hagelthorn’s multifaceted career as an educator, performer, and researcher highlights her dedication to advancing the field of piano pedagogy. |
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Rachel BrakeINSTRUMENTAL CONDUCTING
Rachel Brake is a music educator, conductor, arts administrator, and performer based in Boston, MA. Her teaching career has spanned from pre-K at Arlington Public Schools to higher education at the New England Conservatory and Harvard University. In 2023, she served as a guest instructor for instrumental conducting studios at NEC and she continues to teach private conducting lessons to Harvard University students. Additionally, she works for both the NEC Preparatory School and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra as a substitute conductor for large ensembles and coach for woodwinds and brass.
At Harvard University, Brake works as a woodwinds, brass, and percussion coach, assistant conductor and music administrator, and music librarian for the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. She loves working with students of any age and ability to foster their passion for music. Her ability to build onto individuals’ strengths and offer insightful, actionable, and concise feedback motivates students to create excellent music in collaborative and independent settings. Brake spends her summers as assistant conductor and French horn performer at the Adirondack Performing Arts Festival. She looks forward to the wide variety of musical experiences there along with spending more time with her family, playing with her young nephew and nieces, and reading in the sunshine by the mountains and lake. |
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Susanne MentzerVOICE
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.
To make a tax-deductible donation, visit our GoFundMe.