Missouri International Piano Competition winners announced. (Items of Interest).

The ninth Missouri Southern International Piano Competition took place April 23-27, 2002, in Joplin, Missouri.

The Senior Division (ages 18 to 30) award winners include Robert Henry, 28, Unites States, who won the grand prize of $10,000 plus a Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) debut; Li Wang, 28, Canada, who won the $5,000 second prize; Young-Ah Tak, 22, Korea, who won the $3,000 third prize; and Ran Dank, 20, Israel, and Oxana Mikhailoff, 30, Russia, who each won honorable mentions, receiving a $2,000 cash award.

The Junior Division award winners, for ages 17 and under, were Avan Pui-Lam Yu, 14, Canada, who received first prize, worth $2,500; Jonathan Ware, 17, Unites States, who won the $2,000 second prize; Sun-Ho Lee, 14, Korea, who won the $1,500 third prize; and Daniel Gledhill, 17, United States, and Sun-Wook Kim, 14, Korea, who each won honorable mention, a cash prize of $1,200.

This competition was first presented in 1987 by Missouri Southern State College in Joplin. Its goal was to bring to the citizens of the area, with a metropolitan population of 350,000, a world-class cultural event that would promote the appreciation of fine music and bring recognition to the college, city, region and state. In 1988, it became a biennial event. The competition features thirty-five contestants from all over the world, all age 30 or under.