Elisabeth Tsai began her musical studies with the cello at the age of four, and switched to the piano at age seven. She is currently under the tutelage of Alexander Kobrin. Her former teachers include Alina Voicu and Ronald Shinn.
Elisabeth has been awarded prizes at numerous regional, national, and international level competitions. In 2014, she was awarded the First Prize and Best Solo Award at the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, and was given the opportunity to perform with the South Carolina Philharmonic. Also in 2014, she was the First Prize winner and the recipient of the Chopin Prize in the national finals of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Junior Piano competition. Other first prize awards include the 2014 New York International Artists Competition, the 2014 Blount-Slawson Young Artists Competition, the 2013 Zelpha Wells Piano Competition,the 2012 Lois Pickard Scholarship Competition, and the 2012 Indian Springs Piano Competition. She has been a recurring state winner in the Alabama Music Teachers Association in both the solo and concerto categories.
In April 2014, Elisabeth made her orchestral debut with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra. She has performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and has an upcoming appearance on NPR’s From the Top, a nationally syndicated radio broadcast featuring America’s talented young musicians. She has been a participant at the Southeastern Piano Festival and Bowdoin International Music Festival, and has played in master classes with Boris Slutsky, Yong Hi Moon, and Julian Martin.
Repertoire
Round I
Bach Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971: I
Chopin Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58: I
Prokofiev Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28
Round II
Rachmaninoff Prelude No. 12 in G-sharp minor, Op. 32
Haydn Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI: 48
Chopin Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22
Round III
Beethoven Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73: I
