Winners Announced - 27th Annual Competition
The top two winners of the 27th annual Richard Record Rising Stars Concerto Competition have been named!
1st Prize - $2,250 Jan and Tom Brock Award
Tingting Wang, 16 y.o., Roseville, MN
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, mvt. 1
Studies with Denis Evstuhin
2nd Prize - $1,500 Bill Koutsky Award
Ella Wan, 15 y.o., North Oaks, MN
Sergi Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1 (1917), mvt 1.
Studies with Alexander Braginsky
3rd Prize - $1,000 Jay and Dawn Jaehnke Award
Lorelei Schoenhard, 16 y.o., St. Cloud, MN
Studies with Marion Judish
Honorable Mention - $500 John Bolstad Award
Angelina Chang, 17 y.o., Madison, WI
Studies with Lina Lee
Born and raised in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, eleventh grader Tingting Wang began her musical journey with group piano lessons at the age of three, transitioning to private instruction at five.
In the spring of 2022, Tingting joined the Rubinstein Music Academy to study under Dr. Denis Evstuhin, an internationally acclaimed pianist. Under his mentorship, her technical and artistic skills flourished, and her musical expression was transformed. Dr. Evstuhin also introduced her to a broader range of repertoire, including piano concertos.
Tingting made her orchestral debut in the spring of 2024, performing Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor with the Dakota Valley Symphony Orchestra. Later that year, she won the Saint Paul Piano Teachers Association (SPPTA) Concerto Competition and appeared as a soloist with both the Mississippi Valley Symphony Orchestra and the Golden Valley Symphony Orchestrat, performing the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. in B-flat minor in the spring of 2025.
Her accolades include the Bonnie and Donn McLellan Award from the Young People's Symphony Concert Association competition, Honorable Mention at the Rising Stars Concerto Competition in La Crosse, Wisconsin, second place in the Minnesota Music Teachers Association Junior Young Artist Contest, and two consecutive third-place awards at the Piano Solo Festival at the University of Northwestern - St. Paul.
Inspired by the rich and expressive sounds of orchestral music, Tingting also plays cello in her school's chamber and symphony orchestras. Beyond music, she is an active participant in Science Olympiad, where she has served as a captain since tenth grade, and in the Econ Start-Up Club. Both have led her to state championships and national-level competition. Her start-up company was named the 2025 Junior Achievement North Company of the Year, featured on KSTP News, and won second place in the youth division of MN Cup.
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Richard Record Rising Stars Concerto Competition 2026 Sponsors
Richard Record, Jan and Tom Brock, Bill Koutsky, Jay and Dawn Jaehnke, and John Bolstad.
Ella Wan is a 15-year-old sophomore at Mounds View High School in North Oaks, MN. She is currently a piano student of Professor Alexander Braginsky at the University of Minnesota. She won first place at the national level in the 2024-2025 Music Teachers National Association competition in the junior piano category, and was a national and regional finalist in prior years. Ella was a first prize winner in the 2025 Schubert Club competition, as well as the Northwestern Piano Solo Festival competition in 2022 and 2023. She was also recently named the winner of the 2025 St. Paul Teachers Association Concerto Competition, earning her the opportunity to perform with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra. In May 2026, she be performing a recital in the Salon se Leve concert series.
Besides piano, Ella has won the MNSOTA Mary West Solo Competition for violin in 2022 and is an active player in the Mounds View High School chamber orchestra. She participates in Math League at her school and is enrolled in the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Math Program. In her free time, she enjoys baking, traveling, and learning about music history.
