Thera Rabinowitch Memorial Piano Competition
The Rabinowitch Piano Competition was established in memory of Thera Rabinowitch, a piano teacher and former Palo Alto Branch President to reward Contestants of the Palo Alto Branch for outstanding musical performance.
2026 Rabinowitch Piano Competition
The Contestant must be a student of a teacher who is an Active Member of the MTAC Palo Alto Branch. and must be in school grade K-12.
Within the total allotted time, Contestants will be expected to perform 2 pieces from contrasting musical periods (i.e., Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic, and Contemporary) of the standard classical repertoire. Contestants in
the Preparatory Division may perform 2 pieces from any musical period.
Pieces must be fully memorized and performed by memory.
Date and Time
Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 1:00-7:00pm
Registration Period
February 9 - March 23, 2026
Location
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto
600 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Winners’ Concert
Sunday, May 3 at 3:15pm
(Same location as the competition)
Guidelines & Application
2026 Competition Winners
Preparatory Division
First Place
Luke He (Teacher Wenchun Ku)
Second Place
Aria Yao (Teacher Lili Cai)
Emma Hu (Teacher Janice Sheng)
Third Place
Ann Chen (Teacher Wenchun Ku)
Theodora Fu (Teacher Wenchun Ku)
Sophia Madan (Teacher Ryan Huo)
Lower Division
First Place
Varad Nagurkar (Teacher Ilki Lee)
Second Place
Maxwell Cheng (Teacher Ryan Huo)
Third Place
Chloe Hu (Teacher Mihyun Kim)
Florence Fu (Teacher Wenchun Ku)
Honorable Mention
Alisa Arutyunyan (Teacher Marina Kashis)
Izabella Arutyunyan (Teacher Marina Kashis)
Sawyer Peavler (Teacher Joanne Yeh)
Middle Division
First Place
Rosalie Park (Teacher Mihyun Kim)
Second Place
Melody Quan (Teacher Natalia Hanukai)
Vihaan Mahisekar (Teacher Mihyun Kim)
Third Place
Evelyn Hua (Teacher Chia-Lin Yang)
Amelia Zhang (Teacher Chia-Lin Yang)
Honorable Mention
Vivian Chen (Teacher Chia-Lin Yang)
Erin Chu (Teacher Nurit Barlev)
Chloe Wang (Teacher Mihyun Kim)
Jaina Zhou (Teacher Nurit Barlev)
Katherine Li (Teacher Lili Cai)
Upper Division
First Place
Isabella Yuan (Teacher Chia-Lin Yang)
Second Place
Rachel Li (Teacher Michelle Lee)
Third Place
Howard Liu (Teacher Chia-Lin Yang)
Saanvi Mahisekar (Teacher Mihyun Kim)
Honorable Mention
Adeline Tran (Teacher Nurit Barlev)
Panel Division
First Place
Jonathan Szeto (Teacher Natalia Hanukai)
Second Place
Chanjin Mo (Teacher Michelle Lee)
Third Place
Rajit Pandey (Teacher Michelle Lee)
Honorable Mention
Chi-Anne Chen (Teacher Chia-Lin Yang)
Alexandra Xiang (Teacher Michelle Lee)
Rabinowitch Piano Competition Committee
Ryan Huo (Chair)
Nurit Barlev
Ellen Leung