💙 Our Goal:
We are excited to announce the winners of the fourth 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. We want to extend a special thank you to this year's judges—Katrina Bobbs Savitski, Aya Higuchi Hagelthorn, Rachel Brake, and Susanne Mentzer—for their support.
🎼 2026 Winners
STRINGS - KATRINA BOBBS SAVITSKI
Grand Prize: Sophia Knudsen, GA (Violin)
2nd Prize: Kate Takemoto, NY (Violin)
3rd Prize: Elizabeth Wnek, MD (Violin)
PIANO - AYA HAGELTHORN
Grand Prize: Chloe Chen, NY
2nd Prize: Hannah Chon, NY
3rd Prize: Hannah Wang, MO
WINDS/BRASS/PERCUSSION - RACHEL BRAKE
Grand Prize: Alice Hu, FL (Flute)
2nd Prize: Megan Chen, MA (Flute)
3rd Prize: Shuman Yuan, PA (Flute)
VOICE - SUSANNE MENTZER
Grand Prize: Monique Tian, DE
2nd Prize: Mia Widdowson, CA
3rd Prize: Torben Heinbockel, MD
🧑⚖️ Judges
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Katrina Bobbs SavitskiVIOLIN
Katrina Bobbs Savitski grew up in a musical family where she began studying piano and violin at age four. She received her Master of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the tutelage of Kathleen Winkler, and now performs regularly as a recitalist and substitute violinist for the Houston Symphony. As a performer, Katrina has won top awards in international competitions across the country, and has soloed with over thirty orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, New West Symphony, and Calgary Symphony. A native of Los Angeles, Katrina began studying piano with her mother Catherine Bobbs and violin with Gail Mellert. At age 15, she and her family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, so she could attend the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) as a student of Paul Kantor. She received her Young Artist and Bachelor degrees with Academic Honors from CIM.
Katrina fell in love with teaching music as a teenager and has worked with hundreds of pre-college music students at programs across the United States. Following her graduation from Rice, she founded and directed the Music Ensemble Program, a chamber music program for pre-college students in Houston. Additionally, she has coached for the Rice Preparatory Program, Houston Youth Symphony, High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), and currently teaches a private studio of highly dedicated pre-college violinists. When she is not teaching or performing, Katrina enjoys reading, scrapbooking, and laughing with her sweet pianist husband Sergei and their three super fun children Eliana, Kira, and Micah. |
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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 the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Her teaching career has spanned from pre-K at the 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 maintained a private conducting studio at Harvard University in 2024-2025. Brake currently teaches general music to pre-k through 2nd-grade students at Brayton Elementary in North Adams, MA.
While at Harvard University, Brake worked as a winds, brass, and percussion coach, assistant conductor and music administrator, and music librarian for the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. On the weekends, she served as a substitute conductor and coach for the NEC Preparatory School and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. She loves working with students of any age and ability to foster their passion for music. Her ability to build on 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 the assistant conductor and French horn performer at the Adirondack Performing Arts Festival. She looks forward to the wide variety of musical experiences there, as well as spending more time with her family, playing with her young nephews and nieces, and reading in the sunshine by the mountains and the lake. Additional information about Brake’s current and upcoming work can be found at rachelbrake.com. |
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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.