2022 Music Awards Winners

We’re proud to announce the winners of the 2022 Monday Musical Club of Portland Music Awards! Contestant Nate Strothkamp received our Phillips Award for best instrumental performance (violin); Andy Bakun received the Jess and Hortense Foster Award for best vocal performance and Kristy Tong received the Colliver Award for the best instrumental performance (piano), with $2,000 going to each contestant. Here’s a complete list of this years’ winners (clicking on their names will take you to their bio and award information):

• Nate Strothkamp
• Andy Bakun
• Kristy Tong
• Claire Youn
• Timothy Lee
• Susan Hong
• Ryan Jun
• Galen Tse
• Alexis Zou

$2,000 Winner of our Phillips Award for best instrumental performance (violin), Nate Strothkamp is an eighteen year-old violinist and senior at Oregon Episcopal School. A current student of Carol Sindell, Nate has appeared as a soloist with the Oregon Symphony, Beaverton Symphony Orchestra, and Portland Youth Philharmonic. He was a national finalist in both the 2021 and 2022 MTNA Senior String Performance competitions and won first place at the 2021 Music Internationale Grand Prix. Nate serves as co-concertmaster of the Portland Youth Philharmonic and has participated in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Castleman Quartet Program, and Bowdoin International Music Festival. Nate attended three iterations of the Online Solo String Intensive where he studied with Soovin Kim, Ani Kavafian, and Arnaud Sussmann. He has had the opportunity to play for many renowned artists including Hilary Hahn and the Dover Quartet.

Nate is dedicated to pursuing equitable music education through his work as executive director of Project Prelude, a student-led organization providing free violin instruction to elementary students from economically disadvantaged schools in Beaverton. Additionally, he co-founded Musicians for Equality, an organization that promotes inclusivity and representation in the classical music industry. Next fall, Nate will continue academic and musical studies at Yale University.

Andy Bakun received Monday Musical Club’s Jess and Hortense Foster Award of $2,000 for the Best Vocal Performance. Andy is a performing artist based in Beaverton, Oregon. He performs around the Portland area, and some of his favorite credits include Jack in Into the Woods at Mountainside High School, Alex in Stone Soup at Lakewood Theatre Co, and Children’s Entertainer/Big Kid in Matilda the Musical at North West Children’s Theater. One of his favorite experiences was performing with Shoshana Bean in her arts education fundraising concert (2019, 2020). He currently attends Mountainside High School, where he serves as the president of his thespian troupe, and as a member of both the National Honor Society & Environment Club. He was recently named a YoungArts Finalist in musical theater (2022), and was also recently nominated for the US Presidential Scholar in the Arts. His first passion was singing and he started singing as a kid, and he has studied voice with the wonderful Erin G McCarthy for the past 4 years. In his free time he likes to go on drives with his friends, listen to Taylor Swift and drink boba.

Kristy Tong received our $2,000 Colliver Award for best piano performance. Kristy is a 16-year-old pianist, and a sophomore at Clackamas High School. She began her piano studies at the age of five, working with Dr. Marjorie Janove. Currently, Kristy is a student of Dr. Jill Timmons. Over her years of playing piano, she has performed in various OMTA festivals, master classes and the Syllabus assessment. At Clackamas High School, Kristy is an active member in extracurricular clubs such as Red Cross, Asian Pacific Islander Student Union, and Key Club. In addition to music, Kristy enjoys reading, cooking, and volunteer work.

Claire Youn received one of three $1,500 prizes for her violin performance. Claire is a sophomore at Sunset High School in Portland, Oregon. She started her violin studies at age 5 under the instruction of Hae-Jin Kim.

As a solo musician, Claire won first place in the 2021 American Protégé International Competition, 2021 OMTA Orchestral Instrumental Scholarship Competition, 2019 Jeannette Scott Briggs Scholarship Award, Great Composers Competition: Best Kabalevsky Performance, second prize in both 2020-2021 Canadian International Music Competition and the GLORY Int’l Competition, third place in 2021 ASTA Solo Competition, and was selected to perform in the 2020 and 2019 ASTA Honors Recital.

Claire joined the Portland Youth Philharmonic Association in 2015 where she is currently the Second Violin Principal, recipient of the Doris McCain Loder Scholarship award, and a member of PYP Camerata. Recently, she played in NAfME All-National Honors Symphony Orchestra, OMEA All-State Honors Orchestra, and the Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall in NYC by WorldStrides. She participated in the NSO Summer Music Institute 2021, OMF Orpheus Academy and Chamber Music Camp of Portland. Claire has also performed in masterclasses with Olivia de Prato, Maya Bennardo, Jun Iwasaki and Teresa Stanislav. Claire is a co-founder/co-music director of the performance group “Movement”, and a musician/instructor of ToRhapsody, a non-profit organization that reaches out to the community.

Timothy Lee received one of three $1,500 prizes for his violin performance. Timothy is a Junior at Aloha High School. He has been playing the violin since the age of 5 and currently studies with Carol Sindell. He has been a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic for 8 years, and has served as a Co-concertmaster for the past 2 years. In 2020, Timothy was accepted to the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute. He also won the Maude Sardam Collaborative Scholarship Competition. In 2021, Timothy won 1st place in the Oregon American String Teachers Association Solo Competition Senior Division. This year, Timothy finished 1st place in the Central Oregon Symphony Young Artist Competition. He was also one of the winners in the Jewish Community Orchestra Young Artist Competition. Timothy has enjoyed taking part in the OMEA All-State and All-Northwest Honor Orchestra. As well as being a violinist, Timothy is also a pianist and has won several OMTA festivals and competitions. Through his music, Timothy has a special heart for serving his community. He and his older brother have reached out to their church, local nursing homes, and the Korean Society of Oregon since they were young. In his free time, Timothy likes to read and engage in constitutional law.

Susan Hong, a junior at Mountain View High School, received one of three $1,500 prizes for her piano performance. She has played piano for 12 years and currently studies with Dr. Renato Fabbro. Susan was a finalist in the 2021 Portland Youth Philharmonic Piano Concerto Competition and won second place at the 2021 Central Oregon Symphony Young Artist Competition and the 2021 AFAF National Concerto Competition. She has also received a silver medal in the 2021 Pacific Northwest Piano Competition, Silver Medal and an honorable mention at the 2021 Washington State Outstanding Artist Piano Competition in the Senior Division. In her free time, Susan loves to read, write and bake.

Ryan Jun, a sophomore at Mountainside High School, was awarded one of three $1,000 prizes for his violin performance. He has been playing the violin for eight years, and currently studies with Carol Sindell.

Ryan has already made many notable musical achievements throughout his career. He received Alternate in the 2021 Oregon MTNA, honorable mention in the 2020 Oregon MTNA, was named 3rd place winner of the American Protégé International Competition, and was accepted into the All-Northwest NAFME Orchestra. This summer, he participated in the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute (NSO-SMI). Ryan has also been a member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic for the past 4 years and had the honor of playing in masterclasses with Simon Fischer and Yura Lee. When not studying classical music, Ryan serves his community advocating for music education and expansion by teaching and inspiring music to elementary students through violin lessons with his friends at Project Prelude. He also enjoys playing on his school’s varsity golf team.

Galen Tse, a senior at Westview High School was awarded one of three $1,000 prizes for his piano performance. He started learning piano at the age of 8 and has been taking lessons with Mr. Nicholas Fontana and Dr. Rachelle McCabe. Galen was a winner in the Trula Whelan Concerto String and Piano Competition and a recipient of the grand piano scholarship from Piano Santa Foundation. Outside of piano, he enjoys competitive swimming and has won Oregon Top 5.

Alexis Zou was awarded one of three $1,000 prizes for her piano performance. Alexis is an 8th grader at Lake Oswego Junior High School. She currently studies piano with Dr. Renato Fabbro and previously studied with Paula Watt. She won the first prize at the 2021 OFMC D. Suzanne Raines Young Pianist competition, the second prize at the 2021 Bellagrande International Music Competition and Bronze medal of 2021 Pacific NW piano competition. She was also the Alternate winner of the 2020 Oregon MTNA Junior Piano Competition and won first prizes at the Spokane Piano competitions. In addition to piano, Alexis enjoys writing, drawing, and playing golf.