Beethoven Piano Competition winners perform Saturday

The School of Music’s annual Beethoven Piano Competition took place on April 2, and three winners emerged from a field of nine entrants — Hallie Houge, Margaret Runaas and Jeongmin Lee.

Each will perform a Beethoven sonata at the winners’ concert on Saturday, April 9 at 3:30 p.m. in Morphy Hall. Admission is free.

Hallie Houge, a senior, will graduate this spring with a bachelor of science degree, for which she has majored in both piano performance and mathematics. A native of Green Bay and graduate of its Preble High School, she studies piano with Jessica Johnson at the School of Music. Previous teachers include Justin Krawitz, Ina Selvelieva, Martha Fischer, Catherine Kautsky and Stella Tovbina. Houge accompanies vocal students in their lessons, master classes, juries and concerts, has worked for four years for University Opera’s costume shop and assists with a variety of responsibilities in the school’s main administrative office. She plans to enroll at UW-Milwaukee for a master’s degree program in math education. She will perform “Sonata No. 15 in D major,” Op. 28 (“Pastorale”).

Margaret Runaas is a second-year aaster of music degree candidate in piano performance and studies with Todd Welbourne. She received the BM degree in piano performance in 2009 from Wartburg College, where she studied with Ted Reuter. Her previous teachers have included Chiu-Ling Lin, Karen Langstraat and her mother. Runaas is a teaching assistant at UW–Madison, teaching class piano and private piano lessons to undergraduate students, and is a member of UW–Madison’s collegiate chapter of the Music Teachers National Association. She will perform “Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major,” Op. 110.

Jeongmin Lee is a native of Seoul, South Korea and graduate of Seoul National University, where she studied with Nakho Paik and Haesun Paik. She received the artist diploma from Oberlin Conservatory, where she studied with Haewon Song, and a master’s degree from Northwestern University as a student of Alan Chow and Marcia Bosits. She is pursuing the D.M.A. degree in piano performance and pedagogy, studying with Todd Welbourne and Jessica Johnson. For two years prior to coming to UW–Madison, Lee taught piano and music at the Yanbian University of Science and Technology and Yanbian International Academy in China. She has given many solo and chamber performances in South Korea, China and the U. S., and has participated in the Banff and Orford (Quebec) festivals. She will perform “Sonata No. 32 in C minor,” Op. 111.

The Beethoven Piano Competition, now in its 26th year, is sponsored by UW–Madison Chancellor Emeritus Irving Shain. The judge for this year’s competition was professor Eun-Joo Kwak of Cardinal Stritch University. A reception will be held for performers and audience following the concert. For more information about School of Music concerts, click here.