2025 MTNA - NJ Composition Competitions Results

Congratulations to the winners for their outstanding compositions and to all participants for their hard work!

Julia Kovalev, Coordinator

Elementary:

Winner: Suvi Kuo, Student of Meng Wang
Honorable mention: Madhav Thirucherai, Student of Samuel Yulsman
Honorable mention: Emmy Zhang, Student of Nancy Modell

Junior:

Winner: Ella Zhang, Student of Nancy Modell
Honorable mention: Ellie She, Student of Nancy Modell
Honorable mention: Sebastian Soloff, Student of Nancy Modell

Senior:

Winner: Jeffrey Li, Student of Jonathan Spitz
Honorable mention: Olex Donghao Li, Student of Yiming Wu
Honorable mention: Colton Stotesbury, Student of Kaori Tanioka
Honorable mention: Enoch Yu, Student of Yiming Wu

2025 COMMISSIONED COMPOSER COMPETITION RESULTS

Esma Pasic-Filipovic, Chairperson 

COMPOSER:  Philip ORR

Elementary: "Daydream No.8"

Prize                  Student                             Teacher

1st                            Charlotte Ham, 10 Eunju Joung Kim
2nd                          Melody Xie, 8 Stella Xu
3rd                           Grace Chen, 8 Bing Bing Chang
HM                           Sheryl Deng, 6 Chiu-Tze Lin

Intermediate: "Wanna Dance?"

Prize                        Student                             Teacher

1st                           Charlotte Shen, 11 Stella Xu
2nd                         Ella Wang, 12 Stella Xu  
3rd                   Kriti Narayanan, 14 Yevgeny Morozov

Advanced: "The Way of Truth, the way of Freedom"

Prize                     Student                            Teacher

1st                           Aiden Zhou, 13        Stella Xu
2nd                         Olex Li, 16                    Bing Bing Chang
3rd                         Andrew Li, 15 Stella Xu

2025 Teacher of the Year to be awarded to Betty Stoloff

Congratulations to Betty Stoloff, recipient of the 2025 Teacher of the Year Award!
In teaching, service, and character alike, Betty has exemplified excellence and is truly deserving of this award. She has long been respected and admired within our association, and we are honored to have her as our colleague. The Award will be formally presented at the State Conference.

The Teacher of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding NJMTA member who exemplifies excellence in teaching, character, and service. The recipient demonstrates exceptional professional qualifications and a deep commitment to inspiring musical growth, while maintaining exemplary communication with students, parents, colleagues, and the community.

Honorees embody integrity, collegiality, and professionalism, creating an atmosphere of respect and care through their ethical standards and personal dedication. They also show selfless service to the music teaching profession through volunteerism, mentorship, and leadership roles within organizations such as NJMTA, MTNA, or another organization. Candidates must have been active NJMTA members for a minimum of five consecutive years and provide documentation of teaching achievements, leadership, community involvement, and letters of recommendation in support of their nomination.

Violin Master Class at the 2025 State Conference

Congratulations to the selected performers for the 2025 Violin Master Class!

We’re excited to present this wonderful opportunity for our young musicians to learn and grow under the guidance of our guest artist.

Important Reminders:

  • Performers are required to register for the Violin Workshop and stay for the entirety of the Master Class.

  • Please notify the event chair of your repertoire selection by November 10, 2025.

  • Students are listed below in alphabetical order by last name.

Stella An

Isabella Gopal

Leilani Gopal

Melody Jian

Lev Jonikas

Roger Wang

Annabelle Zhao

Isabelle Zhao

2025 MTNA -NJ Performance Competitions Results

Congratulations to the winners for their outstanding performances and to all participants for their hard work, dedication, and musicianship!

Amy I-Yun Tu, Chairperson, Junior and Young Artist Coordinator
Wei-Yuh Christina Xie, Senior Coordinator


JUNIOR LEVEL

PIANO

Winner: Bowen Liang            Teacher: Stella Xu
Alternate: Claire Li                                       Teacher: Michael Thomopolous
Honorable Mention: Lexi Cui                                        Teacher: Chiu-Tze Lin
                                                Jaden Lin                                Teacher: Grace Yang
Bryan Wu Teacher: Veda Zuponcic

STRING

Winner: Claire Lee, violin                                   Teacher: Sheryl Staples
Alternate: Max Lu, cello                                   Teacher: Seojin Yang
Honorable Mention: Catherine Yu, cello                 Teacher: Hyojin Lee

WOODWIND

Winner: Katherine Lee, flute                                 Teacher: Amy I-Yun Tu
Alternate: Mukund Venkatesan, flute                            Teacher: Sandy Olson
Honorable Mention: Sophia Kim, flute          Teacher: Christine Kang
                                  Katelyn Park, clarinet                   Teacher: Bryan Rudderow                               

SENIOR LEVEL

PIANO

Winner : Hudson Dong                                             Teacher: Stella Xu
Alternate: Edward Ojard                                          Teacher: Veda Zuponcic
Honorable Mention: Tony Rosario Bello                     Teacher: Ingrid Clarfield
                                                Eric Feng           Teacher: Gloria Chu
                                                Alice Wan       Teacher: Stella Xu
Alexander Wang Teacher: Chiu-Tze Lin

PIANO DUET

Winner : Conan Yang & Samuel Cronk                           Teacher: Veda Zuponcic
Alternate: Amy Chu & Natalie Qian                           Teacher: Chiu-Tze Lin

STRING

Winner: Alice Xinyue Hu, violin                                 Teacher: Brittany Sklar                                            
Alternate: Darren Lee, cello                                      Teacher: Hyojin Lee
Honorable Mention: Elie Kuan, cello                            Teacher: Hyojin Lee

WOODWIND

Winner: Eric Sigalov, saxophone                                   Teacher: Valentin Kovalev
Alternate: Jayjune Shin, saxophone                                Teacher: Gi Lee
Honorable Mention: Cherie Tong Xu, clarinet             Teacher: Kenneth Ellison                                    
Jonathan Lin, saxophone               Teacher: Wonki Lee

                                                   

YOUNG ARTIST LEVEL

PIANO SOLO

Winner: Vitalii Khairutdinov                                        Teacher: Veda Zuponcic
Alternate: Alexander DeStefano Teacher: Veda Zuponcic

STRING SOLO

            State Representative: Bethany Bobbs, cello                  Teacher: Catherine Bobbs

WOODWIND SOLO:

            State Representative: Hong Cheng, clarinet                 Teacher: Maureen Hurd Hause