by Mike Telin
Next week the Cooper International Competition turns its attention to the piano for the first time since 2018. “It’s been five years, so it’s good to be back,” Oberlin Conservatory professor and Competition director Robert Shannon said during a recent telephone conversation.
This year, 19 pianists between the ages of 13 and 18 who have advanced through the preliminaries of submitted videos will participate in live rounds in Oberlin’s Warner Concert Hall from July 31 to August 2. Click here to view their biographies and repertoire lists.
The 19, who represent 7 countries and 4 U.S. states, are vying for the opportunity to play full concertos in a final round with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of David Robertson at Severance Music Center on Friday, August 4 at 7:30 pm — and the $20,000 first prize. Tickets are available online.
Piano professor Robert Shannon is eagerly waiting to welcome this year’s participants in the Thomas & Evon Cooper Piano Competition to the Oberlin campus later this week. “This year the lineup is stronger than ever,” Shannon said in a recent telephone conversation. “There’re some impressive people, and the overall level is consistently high.” 
This year’s sole competitor from Ohio in the Cooper International Piano Competition, fourteen-year-old Kasey Shao began her studies at age six. During a recent telephone conversation from her home in Cincinnati, the Walnut Hills High School sophomore said that she has known about the Cooper Competition from the time it began. “I’ve watched the live streams and broadcasts, and I’ve always wanted to compete in it. Now that I’m finally old enough, I applied and got in. I’m very excited to compete and to meet the other contestants.” 
