2025 Music Award Winners

Monday Musical Club of Portland is proud to announce the names of contestants selected for awards following our auditions on April 12th and 13th for our 2025 Award program. Forty-nine contestants participated in this year’s events held in Lincoln Hall at Portland State University. The Judges for our auditions this year were the Associate Concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony, Peter Frajola (Instrumental), Dr. Esteban Zúñiga Calderon (Voice), and Dr. Barbara Roberts (Piano). Our adjudicators carefully evaluated the performances and selected the award winners based on scoring factors that included Stage Protocol and Etiquette, Musical and Rhythmic Integrity, Musical Artistry and Stage Presence, Technical Mastery, and Stylistic Accuracy with ten points each for a total score of 50 points possible.

Congratulations to all our award recipients who will receive their awards at our May 5th Awards Ceremony to be held at 1 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church in NE Portland. Winners must be present and perform in order to win and the event will be open to the public with donations accepted to support our awards program. Additional details will be provided soon.  A total of $16,500 will be awarded, and the winners are: 

Jonathan Derby
Nikita Istratov
Kristen Kim
Luke D’Silva
Elijah Wilson
Laurien Zahn
Isabel Pichler
Andy Shin
Minntah Haefker
Sam Lopez
Kaden Prichard
Ray Yoshimori
Honorable mention categories
Our audition judges

$2,000 Award Winner. LaFord Award for the best vocal performance. Jonathan Derby. A recent PSU graduate, Johnny is a previous winner of Portland State’s Opera Scholarship Competition. He greatly enjoyed his time as a part of PSU’s student opera program and recently made his professional opera debut as Jim in PSU’s production of The Gift of the Magi. His past operatic roles include Count Danilo in The Merry Widow, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Mr. Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Dr. John Watson in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant. As a young and emerging baritone, Johnny has already had the pleasure of working with experts of the professional field of opera, receiving glowing recommendations from directors Linda Brovsky and Dan Wallace Miller. Johnny has had the honor of singing opera scenes and arias on All Classical Radio’s Thursdays @ Three. He recently made his professional concert debut in January with Orchestra Nova Northwest.

$2,000 Award Winner. Colliver Award for the best piano performance (with a perfect score of 50 points). Nikita Istratov has been playing piano since the age of 6 under the tutelage of Elena Istratova. He completed high school in Portland, OR with a full IB Diploma and is now in his first year of studying piano in college, under Dr. Alexandre Dossin. In his time in high school, he completed Level X of the OMTA Syllabus program “With Distinction,” performed at Weill Recital Hall in New York twice, won first prize at the 2021 Pittsburgh International Piano Competition, first prize at the 2021 Oregon State OPUS competition as well as a discretionary award at the national OPUS competition, won OMTA Donna and David Eason as well as Francis Virginia Melton scholarships, and won third prize in the 2022 Pacific International Piano Competition. He was selected for and attended the 2023 New York University Steinhardt School MPAP Summer Piano Intensive, where he studied with NYU piano faculty including Jeffrey Swann and Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner. Nikita also performed at The Reser in Portland, OR in May 2024 as a winner of the MetroArts Young Artists Debut! competition. Nikita loves attending concerts and studying classical music, from theory and analysis to conducting.

$2,000 Award Winner. Phillips Award for the best instrumental performance, (Cello). Kristen Kim is a 15-year-old cellist in Portland, Oregon. She started playing cello at the age of six, and is currently studying with cellist Hyun-Jin Kim. She made her solo debut with the Oregon Mozart Players at 12 and has since performed with the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Sinfonietta, and members of the Oregon Symphony. She also performed at Carnegie Hall as a winner of the American Protégé International String Competition. Her achievements include winning the 2021 Music Teachers National Association Oregon State Junior String Competition and getting first place in the 2022 Oregon Mozart Players Young Soloist Competition Junior Division and second place in the 2024 Senior Division. She was chosen as a winner of the 2022 Cognizart Young Artists Debut! Competition, and in 2023, she won the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra Young Artist Competition and the Oregon Sinfonietta Concerto Competition. In 2024, Kristen attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) Young Artist Orchestra as a principal cellist, where she had the opportunity to participate in a masterclass with the renowned cellist Steven Isserlis.  

Kristen serves as a co-principal cellist of the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and was the principal cellist of the 2025 All State OMEA Orchestra. As the Executive Director of Project Prelude, she contributes to the community by sharing her passion with young musicians. Outside of her musical pursuits, Kristen loves to read and bake muffins with her mom!

$1,500 Award winner. Luke D’Silva is a senior at Westview High School. His primary teacher is Andrea Hawkins, and he has been mentored by Peter Slowik, Li-Kuo Chang, Eric Nowlin, Kerri Ryan, Hillary Oseas, Annie Fullard, Sang Mee Lee, Davis King, Brian Quincey, Daniel Avshalomov, and David Hattner. Luke has been named a 2025 National YoungArts Award Winner in Classical Music/Viola. He is also PYP’s Principal Viola and recipient of the PYP’s 2023-2024 Gershkovitch Award. In 2024, he attended Center Stage Strings at the University of Michigan and was selected to be in the Advanced Chamber Music Program. He also served as the Principal Viola of the 2023 Oregon All-State and All-Northwest Orchestras. Luke represented Oregon in NYO2 as Assistant Principal Viola in 2022 and Principal Viola in 2023. In 2023, he joined OrpheusPDX’s The Pathways Program. He was also a winner of Cognizart’s 29th Young Artists Debut!, 1st place winner of Eugene Symphony’s 2023 Young Artist Competition, and 2023 & 2024 Oregon State Solo Contest for Viola. He was also a member of the Westview String Quintet that won the 2023 Oregon State Large String Ensemble Contest. He will be joining this summer the inaugural Addicott Summer Chamber Music Festival organized by The Euclid Quartet. Luke is a founding member of Euphonos Ensemble and the Co-Regional Director of Portland’s The Back to Bach Project.

$1,500 Award winner. Elijah Wilson has played the piano for just under three years, studying under Linda Barker. A recent second place winner in the Portland Piano International Concerto Competition, in partnership with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, he passionately performed Rachmaninoff’s First Piano Concerto. In the summer of 2024, he was invited to the Indiana University’s Jacob School of Music piano intensive where he was challenged and grew tremendously as a pianist. 

Although he spends much of his time playing the piano, you can also find him participating in numerous after school academic and sport clubs. He is part of National Honor Society as well as the Japanese National Honor Society, Chess, Basketball and Math clubs. He enjoys the rigors of the International Baccalaureate Program at the International School of Beaverton where he attends school. He is interested in the fields of engineering, medicine, math, and of course, piano as future endeavors.

$1,500 Award winner. Laurien Zahn is an operatic soprano studying vocal performance at Portland State University with Kelly Nassief. Originally from southwest Washington, Laurien grew up in the country surrounded by her family and a menagerie of pets. While studying with Sue Hinshaw, formerly of PSU, Laurien won the Southwest Washington Symphony Young Artist competition of 2021. She holds an Associate Degree in Music from Lower Columbia College, where she was awarded an Outstanding Student of the Year; Music in the 2023-24 school year, becoming a NATS National Student Auditions quarterfinalist in the same year. Now living in Portland, Laurien is broadening her horizons and enjoying the challenges of being a Junior at university. In January, she received joint 3rd place in the 2025 PSU Opera Scholarship competition. Laurien loves spending time with animals and taking walks in nature. She has just enough piano skills to enjoy playing, and she spends too much time deciding what to wear every day.

$1,000 Award Winner. The Susan Patzakis Award for vocal excellence. Isabel Pichler is a post-graduate classical vocalist and French teacher. She graduated in 2022 from Lewis & Clark College where she studied Vocal Performance and French. She has competed in several classical singing competitions such as the Lewis & Clark Concerto Competition 2021, NATS National Student Awards, and NATSAA. Isabel has placed in the top three finalists for the regional divisions every year in the National Student Awards, advancing to the national level. In her junior year, she won the NATS “Bel Canto Award” for vocal excellence in the genre of art song. Since graduating in 2022, Isabel has continued performing in the Portland area. She has sung with The Old Church Lunchtime Concert Series and the Periwinkle Studio’s Backyard Summer Concert Series, featuring in solo recitals and starring as Lucy in the performance of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Telephone.” Isabel was awarded as a winner of the 2024 Monday Musical Club’s “Music Award”. She has also been singing with St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church choir since 2022, after having previously sung with the Westminster Presbyterian Church choir. She hopes to continue her vocal studies in a post-graduate program shortly.

$1,000 Award Winner. Andy Shin, age fifteen, is a sophomore at Beaverton Academy of Science and Engineering. At age nine, he began his journey with the cello and has been studying with Maria Shim. Andy has been a dedicated member of the Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) Organization for five years and has served as Co-Principal cellist in both the PYP and Camerata PYP since 2023. Andy is an extremely passionate cellist who enjoys spreading happiness through classical music.

As an active soloist, Andy has made many significant achievements. He has had the opportunity to play with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, members of the Oregon Symphony, the Eugene Symphony, the Jewish Community Orchestra, and the Willamette Falls Symphony Orchestra as a result of winning the 2024 PYP Concerto Competition, the 2023 MetroArts Young Artist Debut! Competition, the 2024 Jewish Community Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the 2024 Willamette Falls Symphony Young Artists Competition, and winning second place in the 2023 Eugene Symphony Guild Young Artists Competition. Andy was also the winner of the 2024 OSAA/OMEA state solo music championship and state chamber ensemble contest.

Andy has performed in masterclasses with Peter Prosser, Ben Hong, Joshua Roman, David Ying, Ian Swensen, Weicong Zhang, Raúl Gómez-Rojas, and Ted Nelson. He has been featured by All Classical Portland radio station’s “On Deck With Young Musicians” program. His passion for music extends beyond solo performances; In 2023, Andy was selected for the 2023 OrpheusPDX pathway program and performed Mozart’s “The Royal Shepherd” (Il Re Pastore) as a member of the OrpheusPDX company, and the following summer, Andy participated in the 2024 Bowdoin International Music Festival and studied with Jeffrey Zeigler. In his free time, Andy enjoys cooking, baking, and hanging out with friends.

$1,000 Award Winner. The Bonnie LaFord Voice Award for best non-classical performance. Singer and artist, Minntah Haefker grew up in both North Portland and Astoria, Oregon. The only daughter of a German American father and a native Thai mother, Minntah has traveled around the world and spent much of her childhood in Thailand. She is a fluent Thai speaker and has been practicing her German since she was able to talk. At six years old Minntah was singing along to Lady Gaga in the back seat of her parent’s Subaru. Later on she started taking piano lessons and began her formal classical vocal training. 

Minntah’s first live performance was with her uncle’s band “3 Leg Torso” in 2013. They perform together to this day. In 2023 she won the OSAA Regional State Soprano Competition and sang for the opening of the State legislature. In the summer of 2024 Minntah traveled to Mondavio, Italy for the “Music in the Marche” opera workshop. More recently she has moved her focus towards jazz, performing at small venues and numerous Jazz festivals around the Pacific Northwest. One her of her most memorable performances was with Pink Martini in 2024. She was invited as a guest vocalist and had the honor to sing their most popular song “Amado Mio” in Thai. She dedicated the performance to her mother. Some of Minntah’s favorite artists are Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Laufey because of their jazz and pop influences. Minntah loves music full of fun and self expression. Dancing and singing help her process her emotions in a healthy way.

She continues to explore new styles of music, collaborating with other musicians from all around the world. Minntah has been a guest artist with 3 Leg Torso, Pink Martini, Tom Grant, George Mitchell Quartet, Christopher Brown Quartet, and Brent Jensen Quartet. In 2024, she, with the help of Brent Follis, formed “The Minntah Quartet.” They are frequently joined by Clay Giberson and Bill Athens. Recently, Minntah had the good fortune to collaborate with Jimmie Herrod, who made a guest appearance with the Minntah Quartet. She is continuing to pursue her musical passion while attending Portland State University.

$1,000 Award Winner. Sam Lopez is an eighth grader at Pacific Crest Community School in Northeast Portland and a dedicated young musician. Born in Madrid, Spain, he discovered his love of piano at a young age before moving to Portland in second grade. After years of independent exploration and lessons with a number of teachers, he has been studying with Momoko Muramatsu since 2024.

Sam earned a Gold Medal in the OMTA Classical Festival in November 2024. He was a district winner of the OMTA Baroque Festival 2025 and was selected to perform at the State Honors Recital in March 2025. He also has performed in a masterclass with pianist Matei Varga and was awarded a merit scholarship to attend the piano program at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan this summer.

Outside of music, Sam is a competitive rock climber with the Portland Rock Gym team. When he’s not practicing piano or climbing, he enjoys traveling, math, eating sushi, spending time with his three dogs, and hanging out with friends.

$1,000 Award Winner. Kaden Prichard lives in Oak Grove, Oregon, and is a  sophomore at Rex Putnam High School where he plays with their Wind Ensemble. He has been an active member playing in Metropolitan Youth Symphony ensembles since 2018. Kaden has played clarinet with MYS’s full Symphony Orchestra since 2022, traveling to Spain and Portugal with them in 2024, and plays with their Symphonic Wind Ensemble. He has studied privately with Dunja Marcum since third grade and started studying with James Shields last year. Kaden played in the symphony orchestras for both Oregon All State and NAfME All Northwest in 2025. Kaden was a concerto winner for Young Musicians and Artists at Willamette University in the summer of 2024, was a concerto winner performing at the Newmark Theatre with the MYS Symphony Orchestra in January 2025, and will be playing a concerto with the Willamette Falls Symphony in June. Kaden received a full ride scholarship to Interlochen Arts Camp as a Fennel Scholar for the summer and will be attending the clarinet intensive workshop as well as playing in the World Youth Wind Symphony. Kaden participates in swim and golf teams at school. When not in rehearsal or at practice, he enjoys cooking, gaming and watching for the next release of sneakers.

$1,000 Award Winner. Ray Yoshimori is a pianist and a senior at West Linn High School. Ray began his piano at the age of five and is currently a student of Hui Mimi Shen, NCTM. Over his years of playing piano, Ray has performed and won in various OMTA festivals. Ray won the second place in 2021 OMTA Sonatina Festival (Level X). In November 2022, Ray has successfully completed OMTA Classical Syllabus Level X with distinction at the age 15. In addition to piano and music study, Ray loves to learn new languages, read, write, draw and bake. Ray enjoys volunteering and currently helps at a local library two days a week. Ray is a member of the World Language Honor Society and the National Art Honor Society at West Linn High School.

Honorable mention is given to recognize the following individuals for scoring highly in their respective categories: 

Instrumental: 
Luna Woo, 14, is a violinist, attends Oregon Episcopal School and studies with Hae-Jin Kim.
Jacob Peizner, 16, is a saxophonist, attends Oregon Episcopal School and studies with Phil Baldino.
Ekaterina Kabenina, 18, is a violinist, attends the University of Portland and studies with Elizabeth Peyton.
Emily Seo, 16, is a cellist, attends Jesuit High School and studies with Hamilton Cheifetz.

Voice:
Katherine Plunkett, 21, is a soprano, attends Portland Community College and studies with Angela Niederloh.
Orie Zadok, 18, is a baritone, attends Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School and studies with Jesse Cromer.
Elaina Stuppler, 16, is a soprano, attends Lakeridge High School and studies with Angela Niederloh.
Alexandra Gunderson, 19, is a soprano, attends Portland State University and studies with Hsin Yi Lin.

Piano:
Lydia Saubel, 21, has completed her education and studies piano with Jill Gambill.
Cole Strong, 16, attends Adrienne C. Nelson High School and studies piano with Julia Lee.
Emily Liu, 15, attends Camas High School and studies piano with Thomas Otten.

We’d like to thank all of our contestants, their parents and teachers for the great effort they have made. We’d also like to thank all our members for their donations, and volunteers who came together to support our competition.

Our audition judges:

Hailing from Cartago, Costa Rica, tenor Esteban José Zúñiga Calderón is a passionate performer and dedicated voice instructor. Often praised for his high vocal range and expressiveness on stage, Zúñiga has forged his path through the world of vocal music, from Latin America to the United States. After completing his undergraduate studies in Costa Rica, he obtained his master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Since then, he has lived in the Pacific Northwest, where he recently received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree with a specialization in Historical Performance Practice from the University of Oregon.

Zúñiga has had the privilege of working with companies and organizations such as Seattle Opera, Eugene Opera, Eugene Symphony, Eugene Vocal Arts, Geneva (NY) Light Opera, Cascadia Chamber Opera, Uptown Classics NYC, and the National Lyric Company of Costa Rica. His repertoire includes principal roles in operas by Rossini, Donizetti, Mozart, Bizet, García, and Handel, in addition to zarzuela, operetta, and musical theater productions. Zúñiga has also performed in a wide variety of venues throughout the United States, as well as on prestigious stages in his home country, Costa Rica. 

In the present day, Esteban serves on the voice faculty at Willamette University and Linn-Benton Community College, where he works with young singers, helping them discover their voices and refine their technique. 

Dr. Calderon selected baritone Jonathan Derby for the 1st place, $2,000 LaFord Award for the best vocal performance, soprano Laurien Zahn for the $1,500 2nd place award, and awarded $1,000 each to sopranos Minntah Haefker for the best non-classical award and Isabel Pichler for the Susan Patzakis memorial voice award for vocal excellence.

Peter Frajola joined the Oregon Symphony in 1984. He attended the University of Oregon for two years on the Ruth Close Scholarship, and was a Murdock Scholar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he received his B.M. Peter went on to become the assistant concertmaster of the Louisville Orchestra and the co-concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony before returning to Oregon in 1984. He also has played in the Eugene, Marin and San Francisco Opera orchestras. Peter has been the concertmaster of the Ernest Bloch Music Festival since 1994.

As a soloist, Peter has performed with the Knoxville Symphony, San Francisco Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, Central Oregon Symphony, the Ernest Bloch Music Festival, the Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, and numerous appearances with the Oregon Symphony.

Peter’s first teachers were his parents Leah and Peter, who both played violin with the Oregon Symphony for many years. Peter has also studied with Lajos Balogh, Lawrence Maves of the University of Oregon, David Abel of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and has played for Dorothy DeLay and Henryk Szeryng.

Peter enjoys performing as a soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist. When not playing music, he enjoys golfing, running and weightlifting. Peter and his wife Laurie live in Beaverton.

Peter Frajola selected violinist Kristen Kim for the 1st Place Phillips award for the best Instrumental performance, violist Luke D’Silva for the 2nd place $1,500 Award, and awarded $1,000 each to clarinetist, Kaden Prichard and cellist Andy Shin.

Dr. Barbara Roberts has taught piano and performed frequently as a piano soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist. Born in Seattle, she was raised in Pasadena CA with the exception of five years in Paris. She earned her Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at Stanford University and her Masters in Music at the University of Michigan. 

After receiving the German DAAD scholarship to study piano in Munich for a year in 1980, she returned to California where she was on the faculty of both Stanford and the University of California at Santa Cruz. She performed and taught piano in Boston for four years before moving to Vancouver WA in 1986.

Barbara Roberts has performed concertos with the Vancouver Symphony and Portland Columbia Symphony (now known as Orchestra NOVA NW). She has played many solo and chamber recitals in the area. She was a soloist for eleven years on the Ten Grands at the Schnitzer in Portland and eight years on the Ten Grands at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle. She has been a member of the WA and OR Music Teachers Associations, has served on boards of local music groups, and has adjudicated for many music events. She maintained a large piano studio until retiring from teaching in 2020. Currently she continues her music relationships, giving back to the music community by volunteering as State Chair of the Oregon Music Teachers Association Syllabus program.

In their spare time, Barbara and her husband Don enjoy traveling, fishing off the coast of Oregon, and visiting family which includes eight grandchildren ages 9 to 4 months.

Dr. Roberts selected Nikita Istratov for the 1st place Colliver award for the best piano performance, Elijah Wilson for the 2nd place $1,500 Award, and awarded $1,000 each to Sam Lopez and Ray Yoshimori.