Chamber Music Institute

First Place Winner in 2008 in MTAC's Composers Today State Competition

Charlie Sharzer won First Place in Division 5 (High School Composers) for the first movement of his first string quartet, "The Campaign"

He performed the quartet at the State Convention in Riverside on Friday, June 27, 2008, with the help of violinists Jonathan Sun (UC-San Diego) and Kay Pech and cellist Judy Kang (USC). Charlie was a viola student in the Pech studio and his composition teacher was Suzanne Wong, MTAC-Whittier Branch. He now studies composition at Yale University where he plays viola in the orchestra.

World Premiere Performance of "...and blue sparks burn"

Friends of Today's Music (Music Teachers Association of California) commissioned Melissa Hui to write a composition for violin and piano

Chamber Music Institute/SC was honored to be selected to perform this world premiere for the State Convention of MTAC, July 2002. The duo of violinist Marina Sharifi and pianist Justina Nadal was coached by faculty member Kay Pech. Photo: (L to R) Pech, Hui, Nadal and Sharifi

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Melissa Hui received her Doctor of Musical Arts from Yale University. Her mentors include Jacob Druckman, Earl Kim and Mel Powell.

Completed in February 2002, Hui says, "the work was conceived in October of 2001 soon after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, in New York City and Washington, D.C. While the nation was mourning the tremendous
and senseless loss of lives, I was haunted by the images of dust and eerie calm that permeated the news coverage in the aftermath of the disaster. This is my personal response."

First Place in 2000 in the State of California

Winning the Senior Ensemble Division

of the California State VOCE Competition provided by the Music Teachers' Association of California

The CMIsc Piano Trio included violinist Marina Sharifi, pianist Jody Chou, and cellist Jay Tilton won the competition on April 16, 2000.

At their performance of the Shostakovich Piano Trio on July 1, 2000, at the State Convention our CMIsc Piano Trio was presented with the $1,200 First Place Award by MTAC.

VOCE State Finalists

2010 String Quartet: Chris Hunt, Michelle Antimie, Lynnie Sharzer and Emmanuel Ventura-Cruess,
won Honorable Mention in Senior Ensemble Category

2009 Arensky Trio: Lynnie Sharzer, Ben Park, and Chris Zhang

2008 Olivia Cottrell, violin soloist

2007 Olivia Cottrell, violin soloist

2007 Cottrell Family Trio: Olivia, Anna & Nathan

2006 Cottrell String Quartet

2006 Peries-Sun-Murtough-Choi Quartet

2006 Darrell Peries, violin soloist

2002 Sunny Lin, viola soloist