Kanon Shibata, Henry From, and Kyung Ah Oh Win the 2022-23 Robert W. and G. Ann Corcoran Concerto Co

Students from The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School competed in the final round of the Robert W. and G. Ann Corcoran Concerto Competition in Koerner Hall last night. The winners each received a $2000 cash prize and an invaluable opportunity to perform as a soloist during the 2023-24 Royal Conservatory Orchestra concert season. 

After a preliminary round of performances that included 38 students, and a semi-final round of six students who competed on October 30, there were three finalists in this year’s competition:  

• Henry From, Piano | From the studio of John O’Conor  
• Kyung Ah Oh, Violin | From the studio of Barry Shiffman and Erika Raum 
• Kanon Shibata, Cello | From the studio of Hans Jørgen Jensen and Andrés Díaz 

Kanon Shibata, a cello student in her 4th year of a Bachelor of Music, Performance (Honours) degree in The Temerty Orchestral Program, won the prestigious Corcoran Grand Prize of $5000 presented to her last night by Robert Corcoran. Ms. Shibata played Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 by Edward Elgar.

“These three finalists are fantastic soloists, as their performances last night showed!” said James Anagnoson, Dean of The Glenn Gould School. “The Corcoran Concerto Competition is one of the highlights of the year for GGS students since it offers the winners the invaluable opportunity of performing a concerto next season with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in the amazing acoustics of Koerner Hall. The playing in the Finals was truly on a professional level, and speaks to the exceptionally high performance standard that has become the hallmark of The Glenn Gould School.”

A panel of internationally acclaimed musicians were adjudicators for the event. Included in the final round were five-time Grammy award winning soprano Dawn Upshaw; pianist and faculty member of The Taylor Academy Anya Alexeyev; violinist and concertmaster with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Crow; and flutist and faculty member of The Juilliard School Carol Wincenc. Adjudicators for the preliminary and semi-final rounds included violinist Jeremy Bell; tenor Richard Margison; pianist Ilya Poletaev; and flutist Kelly Zimba Lukić.

In addition to her role as an adjudicator for the competition, Ms. Upshaw is mentoring GGS vocal students including the winner of the 2021-22 Corcoran Competition, soprano Elena Howard-Scott, in a special coaching session ahead of the GGS Fall Opera, John Blow’s Venus and Adonis, being performed at Mazzoleni Concert Hall on November 4.