On Saturday night, Minneapolis native Evren Ozel took the bronze medal at North America’s foremost classical piano competition, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
By virtue of his third-place finish, Ozel, 26, will receive $25,000 and three years of career management, tours, recordings and assistance with press kits, videos and websites. Ozel also received a special award for the competition’s best performance of a Mozart concerto.
Ozel was the highest American finisher in a competition won by Hong Kong’s Aristo Sham, who will receive $100,000. Taking home the $50,000 silver medal was Vitaly Starikov, a citizen of both Israel and Russia.
Ozel will perform a Frederic Chopin Society recital in St. Paul on Oct. 12. Information and tickets are available at chopinsocietymn.org.
