The RNCM made a big impression at this year’s Brant International Piano Competition with postgraduate pianist Oliver She (pictured) winning First Prize and undergraduate Dominic Degavino both Third Prize and the Audience Prize.
Founded in 1979 and held in Birmingham each year, the Brant International Piano Competition is open to all UK-based pianists between the ages of 18 and 28 and is recognised as one of the West Midlands’ most prestigious music competitions. It was judged by Norma Fisher (RNCM Fellow and Professor at the Royal College of Music), Di Xiao (pianist and Tutor at Birmingham Conservatoire), Richard Hawley (Director of Artistic Programming and Projects, Town Hall and Symphony Hall), and pianist John York.
Oliver, a pupil of Graham Scott, performed Debussy’s Les Collines d’Anacapri, Liszt’s Rhapsodie Espagnole, and Rachmaninov’s Sonata No 2 in B flat minor to secure the £3000 top prize, while Dominic, a first year pianist studying with Helen Krizos, performed Haydn’s Sonata in B minor, Berg’s Sonata Op 1, and Tippett’s Piano Sonata No 2 to win the £1000 Third Prize and £500 Audience Prize.
Their success follows that of fellow RNCM pianist Alexander Panfilov who won First Prize in the 2013 competition.
