Rising Stars II
Joshua Han - pianist
Joshua was born in Sydney in 2002. He began studying the piano and violin with his mother when he was 4 years old. At the age of 6, he gained an A+ in AMEB Violin 6th grade and won his first gold in Piano at the Sydney Eisteddfod. One month after turning 10 Joshua was awarded his LMusA and has continued to achieve considerable success in the world of music.
As the youngest contestant (age 10) Joshua won the Encouragement Award in the First Korea International Competition for Young Pianists (for pianists age 18 and under) held in Seoul, South Korea.. In 2014 he emerged as the winner of the German Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists, achieving the highest mark in the contest’s 28-year history. The following year, Joshua took home first prize, as well as the audience prize, in the 2015 Aarhus International Piano Competition, held in Denmark.
An active participant in several concerts and festivals worldwide, Joshua is just 14 and is studying under a full music scholarship at The King’s School.
Joshua Han - competing in the 2nd Round of the Aarhus International Piano Competition in Denmark.
Cedar-Rose Newman - violinist
Cedar is 13 and was drawn to music from when she was very young. Her love of the violin stems from hours spent listening to her Aunt play Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ on her Great Grandmother’s violin; the instrument which she now plays.
In 2010 Cedar commenced violin lessons with Sarah Hindson. She also studied theory, participated in ensembles and won numerous awards at the Wollongong Eisteddfod. In 2016 she was accepted to the Open Academy at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and won many prizes at the Canberra String Festival and in 2014 was a place winner in several violin sections at the Sydney Eisteddfod.
In late 2016 Cedar moved to the USA after accepting an invitation to study with the Russian violinist, conductor and composer Albert Markov, based at the Manhattan School of Music.
Cedar has given many performances and recitals on both the piano and violin. In 2016 she performed the Mozart Concerto No.2 with the Highland Sinfonia and in 2013 played Vivaldi’s Spring (Mov.3) for the Illawarra Choral Society. With her duet partner violinist Lina Lee, Cedar was a feature artist at the 2014 Gerringong Music Club Young Performers Concert playing Shostakovich's ‘5 Pieces for Two Violins’ and in 2015 they performed Bach's Double Violin Concerto.