For immediate release                                                   April 23, 2008

JOPLIN, MO (SNS) – Performance rounds for the Senior Division of the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition will begin Wednesday, April 23 in Webster Hall on the MSSU campus. Twenty pianists ages 10 – 30 will compete for $32,500 in cash prizes plus a debut in Carnegie Recital Hall in New York for the Grand Prize Winner.

Each participant will play a 30-minute program of solo classical works from different style periods before a panel of international judges. The competition rounds are open to the public free of charge.

 Senior finalists will be announced at the end of the round on Thursday at approximately 12:30 p.m. The finalists will compete in the final round on Friday beginning at 1:00p.m.

Senior Semifinal schedule

9:15 a.m.          Hye-Hyeon Park, 25, Korea

9:50 a.m.          So-Yeon Park, 25, USA

10:25 a.m.        Elena Dorozhkina, 30, Russia

11:15 a.m.        Tian Lu, 22, China

11:50 a.m.        Hyun-Jee Moon, 24, Korea

1:40 p.m.          Junko Ichikawa, 29, Japan

2:15 p.m.          Viktor Valkov, 27, Bulgaria

2:50 p.m.          Jae-Won Kim, 19, Korea

3:35 p.m.          Hye-Yeon Park, 24, Korea

4:10 p.m.          Yu-Chi Tai, 27, Taiwan

7:00 p.m.          Polina Bespalko, 29, Russia/USA

7:35 p.m.          Xilan Wang, 23, China

8:10 p.m.          Avan Yu, 20, Canada

8:55 p.m.          Peggy Pei-zhang Sung, 20,  Hong Kong

9:30 p.m.          Lishan Xue, 22, China

Thursday, April 24

9:15 a.m.          Cathal Breslin, 29, Northern Ireland

9:50 a.m.          Hanchien Lee, 23, Taiwan

10:25 a.m.        Olivier Hebert-Bouchard, 19, Canada

11:15 a.m.        Fang Zhang, 29, China

11:50 a.m.        Mi-Hyang Joo, 30, Korea

Announcement of Senior Finalists

             For additional information and concert tickets, contact MSIPC at 417‑625‑9755, email msipc@mssu.edu.