2026 FINALISTS -UPDATING
Southwest (San Diego) Division 2026
Young Artist Category
Edison Hsu
Healin Lee
Yvonne Gao
Elissa Szeto
Parker Huang
Angela Liu
Erica Zhou
Isabelle Lu
Evelyn Fu
Alexander Xiao
Charlotte Gao
Kris Song
Southwest (San Francisco) Division 2026
Young Artist Category
Jasper Leung
Ryan Liu
Lilia Hui
Teresa Zhao
Sienna Chen
Chamber Music Category
Vivian Zhang / Hengyi Hao
Professional Artist Category
Avaline Wang
Special Beethoven Category
Charlotte Mar
Jasper Leung
Southeast (Charlotte) Division 2026
Young Artist Category
Julianna Zhou
Ethan Chen
Lucas Lindsey
Anya White
Kenan Lee
Daniel Wan
Midwest (Springfield) Division
Young Artist Category
Gia Xu
Epsilon Nguyen
Oliver Sun
Lillian Meng
Neal Lei
Nikolai McKinney
Danna Yang
Lanie Deng
Casia Keiser
Ryleigh Renner
Professional Artist Category
Eddison Chen
Suyeon Kim
Seokjin Bae
Hye Ryung Joo
Ruijia Wang
Chamber Music Category
Charlottee & Lillian Meng
Joseph Bock & Dietrich Snyder
Special Beethoven Category
Annalea Boehner
Dietrich Snyder
Northeast (Boston) Division
Young Artist Category
Charles Yan
Dylan Song
Eric Xi
Aiden Song
Annie Wang
Emily Xi
Ava Xing
Yuri Nakajima
Nathan Zhang
Irene Wang
Professional Artist Category
Alexander Mikhailov
Southwest (Los Angeles) Division
Young Artist Category
Adalynn Huang
Steven Long
Cody Wang
Camillia Sun
Alex Long
Alexandar Qian
Youyang Qu
Howar Wang
Ivy Liu
Derick Xue
Ysabella Mireille Guillermo
Charlotte Chen
Hanson Li
Lance Shan
Shelmy Wu
Mimi Zhu
Guanlin Li
Charles Sun
Patrick Yang
Katherine Liu
Yuchen Shan
Professional Artist Category
Tian Yu Tammy Ye
Boxuan Sun
Benjamin Zhang
Zachary Wu
Tianhao Kang
Rules and Fees
- Candidates who made to the the previous year’s final round are qualified to proceed directly to the US National Round
- Every participant in preliminary round will receive digital certificate and comments from the judge.
- Collegiate students (piano performance major) are exempt from the preliminary round and apply directly to the national round.
- As long as the candidate is a US resident, they can participate in any location.
- Preliminary round judges
- Application fees are not refundable.
- Repertoire: Please check out the general information page.
- Questions? Feel free to reach out support@ippa.cc( US Headquarters) or Check out your own regional info.
Preliminary Round Application Fee：$50 USD
National Round Application Fee:
$120 USD for Young Artist Category
$150 USD for Professionals Artists Category and Chamber Music Category
$100 For Online National Round
Midwest Region: (Springfield, MO)
Preliminary Round Application Deadline:
April 8th, 2026 (11:59pm, CT)
National Round Application Deadline:
April 23rd, 2026 (11:59pm, CT)
Competition Day:
May 9th, 2026
Location:
C Minor Recital Hall, Missouri State University
901 S National Ave Springfield, MO 65897
Regional Director: Dr. Hye-Jung Hong
Questions? Email: us.midwest@ippa.cc
Northeast Region: (Fairfield, CT)
Preliminary Round Application Deadline:
April 30th, 2026 (11:59pm, ET)
National Round Application Deadline:
May 11th, 2026 (11:59pm, ET)
Competition Day:
May 17th, 2026
Location:
Faust Harrison Pianos
322 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield, CT 06825
Regional Director: Linda Franklin-Biggs
Questions? Email: ippacompetitions@gmail.com
Northeast Region: (Boston, MA)
Preliminary Round Application Deadline:
April 15th, 2026 (11:59pm, ET)
National Round Application Deadline:
May 1st, 2026 (11:59pm, CT)
Competition Day:
May 10th, 2026
Location:
The Nordic Hall
206 Waltham St, Newton
Regional Director: Dr. Hye-Jung Hong
Questions? Email: boston@ippa.cc
Southwest Region: (San Diego, CA)
Preliminary Round Application Deadline:
March 22nd, 2026 (11:59pm, PT)
National Round Application Deadline:
April 1st, 2026 (11:59pm, PT)
Competition Day:
April 4th, 2026
Location:
San Diego Steinway Gallery
9222 Miramar Rd, San Diego, CA 92126
Regional Director: Zishan Ding
Questions? Email: us.southwest.san.diego@ippa.cc
Southwest Region: (San Francisco, CA)
Preliminary Round Application Deadline:
April 1st, 2026 (11:59pm, PT)
National Round Application Deadline:
April 15th, 2026 (11:59pm, PT)
Competition Day:
April 25th, 2026
Location：18590 Almaden Rd, San Jose, CA, 95120
Regional Director: Zishan Ding & Zhou Jiang
Questions? Email: us.southwest.san.diego@ippa.cc
Southwest Region: (Los Angeles, CA)
Preliminary Round Application Deadline:
April 20th, 2026 (11:59pm, PT)
National Round Application Deadline:
May 1st, 2026 (11:59pm, PT)
Competition Day:
May 9th-10th, 2026
Location:
Steinway Piano Gallery，150 E Colorado Blvd #101, Pasadena, CA 91105
Regional Director: Jiaxian Li
Questions? Email: us.southwest.los.angeles@ippa.cc
Southeast Region: (Charlotte, NC)
Preliminary Round Application Deadline:
April 10th, 2026 (11:59pm, ET)
National Round Application Deadline:
April 21st, 2026 (11:59pm, ET)
Competition Day:
April 26th, 2026
Location:
Steinway Piano Gallery Charlotte
7030 Smith Corners Blvd #A, Charlotte, NC
Regional Director: Fan Yang
Questions? Email: fan.clt@ippa.cc
Online Division 2026
Preliminary Round Application Deadline:
May 10th, 2026 (11:59pm, CT)
National Round Application Deadline:
May 23rd to 31st, 2026 (11:59pm, CT)
Online Division is for those who can’t participate in the in-person national round. Qualified winners can choose to participate in the final round either in-person or online.
Questions? Email: online.competition@ippa.cc
Rating System and Awards (National Round)
Gold Prize Winner: Crystal medal, certificate and detailed comments from the judges.
Silver Prize Winner: Crystal medal, certificate and detailed comments from the judges.
Bronze Prize Winner: Crystal medal, certificate and detailed comments from the judges.
Honorable Mention: Certificate and detailed comments from the judges.
Participation: Certificate and detailed comments from the judges.
* Only Gold prize winner are qualified for the International level (Final Round) competition.
* Gold Prize Winners will receive IPPA Conero festival scholarship to participate the festival in Italy (August 1st to 10th, 2025).
* Online National Round Competition candidate will receive digital certificate, comments.
International Final Round Competition
In-person Final Round Competition: July, 2026
Location: Swarthout Recital Hall, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS United States
Online Final Round Competition: June 20th to 30th, 2026
For finalists who participate virtually, the IPPA Conero team will schedule a performance time with them. Available times will fall between June 20th -30th. No pre-recording allowed, it will be a live performance.
Past US Division Competition Gallery
2026 Finalist
Midwest – Springfield Division
Young Artist Category
Kara Yaren
Thomas Brinton
Olivia Guo
Alexa Brinton
Jaxon Baharudin
Xiaowei Wang
Isaac Walker
Hannah Rico
Nathan Wu
Professional Artist Category
Dylan Zheng
Ethan Hanner
Yeawon Kim
Adult Chamber Group
Xinhao Sun & Jiayuan Ding
Southwest – San Diego Division
Young Artist Category
Healin Lee
Maggie Pacleb
Selena Wang
Fuga Endo
Elissa Szeto
Alexander Xiao
Corina Liu
Olivia Chen
Evelyn Fu
Professional Artist Category
Angela Yiyi Fei
Southwest – Los Angeles Division
Young Artist Category: Group F
Youyang Qu
Camellia Sun
Cynthia Xu
Young Artist Category: Group E
Charlotte Chen
Diana Gao
Maggie Qi
Young Artist Category: Group D
Francis Cai
Aaron Li
Emma Luo
Alan Luo
Schuyler Ho
Molly Gan
Catherine Sun
Ellie Zeng
Mimi Zhu
Tymon Wu
Andy Zhang
Young Artist Category: Group C
Eileen Liu
Shaomei Peng
Ivy Wang
Ethan Zhang
Young Artist Category: Group B
Jeremy Lee
Xingchen Lin
Darren Wang
Young Artist Category: Group A
David Lin
Professional Artist Category: Adult Group A
Yuhui Jin
Chamber Music Category: Group B
Aaron Li & Ivy Tang
Southeast – Charlotte Division
Young Artist Category
Bolun Zhang
Dylan Han
Oscar Lu
Jillan Paz Ramoran
Shiyang Li
Anya White
Angela Yan
Yoav Ovrutsky
Chulin Tang
Professional Artist Category
Xiaohan Yu
Zeng Long
Anya White
Southwest – San Francisco Division
Young Artist Category
Chris Yan
Isabel Leung
Ryan Liu
Advika Srikumar
Layla Guan
Charlotte Mar
Elliot Li
Scarlett Zhang
Luoyi Li
Soma Leblanc
Chamber Music Category
Jonathan Guo & Evan Zhang
Northeast – Boston Division
Young Artist Category
Alex Dyatlov
Tomas Borges
Aiden Song
Annie Ruiying Wang
Ruimi Deng
Emily Xi
Rachel Wang
William Xuan
Northeast – Connecticut Division
Young Artists Category
Matteo Melillo
Anthony Tan
Aaron Gu
Selena Jiang
Leonardo Letts
William Du
Kaixin Zhong
Karen Tan
Hanna Luo
Yihan Luo
Henry Zhou
Kevin Zhang
Monica Chen
Leah DeMarco
Professional Artists Category
Avigail Kohl
David Zhang
Rhea Fan
Kaifeng Zhong
Online Division
Young Artists Category
Oscar Gu
Allie Ma
Evelyn Hua
Ella Wang
Saurish Nanduri
Brennan Flach
Jani Jian
Professional Artist Category
Ethan Wang
Cong Li
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