UPDATED: Deadline for Instrument Loan Program: April 16 The Holland-America Music Society is still accepting nominees for the Instrument Loan Program. Participating schools are Cleveland Institute of Music, DePaul University, Northwestern University, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and Roosevelt University: Music Conservatory. INTERESTED? For more information, have your teacher contact us at Brandon@hamscompetition.com.

CD Release: Jonathan Vinocour, 2006 Viola Competition Winner - Friday, May 22, 2009 HAMS is proud to announce the release of Holland America Presents: Jonathan Vinocour, 2006 Viola Competition Winner. This recording, the sixth produced by HAMS, features works by Britten, Karastoyanova-Hermantine, and Shostakovich. This work is the first recording by HAMS to be distributed on-line. Currently available on CDBaby.com, look for it soon on iTunes.   read more...

2008 Jury awards shared Second Prize and a Third Prize The jury of the 2008 HAMS Competition awarded a shared second prize to Ying Fu and Timothy Braun, and a third prize to Tiantian Zhang on June 2nd, 2008. No first prize was awarded. The three finalists were selected from seven semi-finalists who competed in the morning. All finalists performed the entire Sibelius Concerto with the DePaul Symphony Orchestra and its esteemed Maestro Cliff Colnot. Ying Fu is a student of Sergiu Luca at Rice Univesrity, Timothy Braun studies with Robert Lipsett at the Colburn School, and Tiantian Zhang is a student of Weigang Li at Bard College.

Semi-finalists announcement The semi-finalists for the 2008 HAMS Competition for Violin are (in random order): Ying Xue David Radzynski Ying Fu Yezu Elizabeth Woo Timothy Braun Eunice Keem Tina Zhang Byron Hitchcock

HAMS Jury 2008 The members of the jury for the 2008 HAMS Competition for Violin will include: David Bowlin, faculty Oberlin Conservatory Ilya Kaler, faculty DePaul University Katinka Kleijn, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

2008 HAMS Competition for Violin, June 2, 2008. DOWNLOAD APLICATION FORM NOW! The 2008 HAMS Competition will be for Violin and will take place on Monday June 2nd. The application form can now be downloaded at the "2008 HAMS Competition for Violin" page. Three finalists will be invited to perform the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the DePaul Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Cliff Colnot at 7:30 pm. They will have the opportunity to rehearse their concerto with orchestra. Prizes include the use of a contemporary instrument made by Koen Padding, a CD recording, and several concert opportunities.   read more...

Marcos Balter commissioned to write competition piece Composer Marcos Balter has been commissioned to write a piece for solo violin for the 2008 HAMS Competition. This piece will be made available to the invited semi-finalists. Balter was born in 1974 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His works have been performed and broadcasted in North and South America, Europe, and Asia in venues such as the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Teatro Colón, Seiji Osawa Hall, and Millennium Park. Past awards and honors include the Leonard Bernstein Fellowship at the 2005 Tanglewood Music Center, a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from Lawrence University, performances at the MusicX, June in Buffalo, Panorama da Música Contemporânea, Musica Nova, E-Werk, and Bounding Board festivals, as well as first prizes at several national and international composition competitions. His music has been performed by ensembles such as the International Contemporary Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus, New Millennium Orchestra, and Third Coast Percussion Quartet, among others. More information is available at www.marcosbalter.com

Karen Kang wins 2007 HAMS Competition Twenty-year old Canadian cellist Karen Kang, has won the coveted first-prize award in the HAMS Competition 2007, an annual competition organized by the Holland-America Music Society in cooperation with DePaul University. In the final round, Kang performed Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations as soloist with the DePaul Symphony under the direction of Maestro Cliff Colnot to critical acclaim. As the first place winner, she has been awarded the full-time use of a highly valued contemporary Dutch cello and bow for one year, in addition to a traditional cash prize and recitals on Dame Myra Hess Concert Series and WFMT Radio. The opportunity to practice and perform on an instrument of this caliber is a priceless experience for a young musician. This year, the HAMS jury decided not to award the compact disc recording prize, produced on the Holland-America Music Society label. Ms. Kang is a student of Laurence Lesser at the New England Conservatory and has received several honors in recent years, among them the top prize in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Standard Life Competition and the Gala prize in the Canadian Music Competition. Eight semi-finalists were invited to participate in this year’s HAMS Competition. Following a semi-final round, three finalists were chosen to perform concertos with the DePaul Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Cliff Colnot. After forty-five minutes of deliberation by the three judges—Stephen Balderston, Marc Johnson and Katinka Kleijn—Ms. Kang was deemed the winner. Twenty-one-year-old Beiliang Zhu, a student of Steve Doane at the Eastman School, performed Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and 22-year-old Maria Crosby, a student of Tania Carey at DePaul University, was the soloist in Haydn’s C major Concerto. Zhu and Crosby shared second place. The HAMS Competition began as a cello competition in 1999, and quickly expanded t

Semi-finalists 07 announced Eight semi-finalists have been chosen to participate in the 2007 HAMS Competition for Cello. Their names are: Loewi Lin, Jamaica Plains, MA Tao Ni, Los Angeles CA Karen Kang, Boston MA Anna Burden, Chicago IL Ana Kim, Bloomington IN Beiliang Zhu, Rochester NY Hans Goldstein, Baltimore MD Maria Crosby, Chicago IL

Winner 2006 wins Principal Viola Position Jonathan Vinocour, the 2006 First Prize Winner of the HAMS Competition for Viola has won the position of Principal Viola with the St. Louis Symphony.

HAMS Competition 2007 for Cello with DePaul Symphony Orchestra, June 5, 2007 The HAMS Competition 2007 for Cello takes place May 31-June 5, 2007 in Chicago. All three finalists will perform concertos with the DePaul Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Cliff Colnot. Maestro Colnot -- principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's contemporary MusicNOW series, resident conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and director of orchestras at DePaul -- has brought the DePaul Symphony Orchestra to a high level of musical excellence that rivals that of professional orchestras. Listen to the DPSO at http://www.myspace.com/dpso.   read more...

Jonathan Vinocour wins First Prize 2006 HAMS Competition After a lengthy jury deliberation, Jonathan Vinocour was awarded the First Prize of the 2006 HAMS Competition. Eric Nowlin won Second Prize and Melissa Reardon was awarded the Third Prize. Ms. Reardon also won the prize for best performance of the newly commissioned piece by Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin.

HAMS Competition 2006 for Viola Dec. 3rd! The Holland-America Music Society would love to invite you to attend the 2006 HAMS Competition for Viola on Dec. 3rd, 2006 at 3 pm in Chicago's own DePaul Concert Hall (Belden and Halsted). Admission is free, and a reception will follow! The HAMS Competition draws top string talent ages 16 through 26 from around the world. Glimpse tomorrow’s musical stars in Chicago's own DePaul Concert Hall. In an innovative twist from the traditional format, winners of the HAMS Competition win the use of a superb contemporary Dutch string instrument, concert appearances, and the opportunity to record. This year, a newly commissioned viola piece by Alexandra Karastoyanova-Hermentin, composed especially for the HAMS Competition will have its premiere. Former HAMS Competition prize winners are now playing solo concerts all over the world, and occupy titled orchestra positions such as asst. principal cello in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, principal viola in the Toronto Symphony and principal cello in the Seattle Symphony.   read more...

Semi-finalists announced Eight violist have been invited to the semi-final round of the 2006 HAMS Competition. Their names in alphabetical order are: Victor de Almeida, Indianapolis Silu Fei, Los Angeles Mark Holloway, NYC Philip Kramp, Philadelphia Eric Nowlin, NYC Tom Palny, NYC Melissa Reardon, NYC Jonathan Vinocour, NYC

Joshua Roman wins Principal Cello Seattle Symphony Cellist Joshua Roma, Second Prize winner in the HAMS Competition 2005, recently was appointed as Principal Cello of the Seattle Symphony.

Patrick Jee wins Lyric Opera job Cellist Patrick Jee and First Prize Winner of the 2001 HAMS Competition was recently appointed to the cello section of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

2005 HAMS Competition Results Four finalists were admitted to the finals of the 2005 HAMS Competition for Cello. After a lengthy deliberation, the HAMS jury decided not to award a First Prize. Joshua Roman and Angela Park won shared Second Prize, and Jonathan Lewis and Alice Yoo won shared Third Prize.

1st Prize Winner 2004 HAMS Competition Keeps Winning After winning the 2004 HAMS Competition, violinist Christina Castelli went on to win the 8th annual Sphinx Competition in Michigan.   read more...

Laureate 2002 HAMS Competition Wins CSO job We are pleased to announce that Kenneth Olsen has won the position of Assistant Principal Cello in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.   read more...

Latest HAMS CD available Check out our latest CD featuring HAMS Prizewinner Min-Ji Kim, designed in collaboration with Dutch artist Chris Berg.   read more...