Encore Piano Studios would like to congratulate all student participants who competed in the music festivals earlier this spring. Twenty-two of our students were awarded at the 2025 Kiwanis and North York Music Festivals. This exceptional group brought home thirty-one awards — twenty-two awards for placing either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in their live competitive class; and nine awards for receiving a gold standing in a virtual competitive class!
Three of our students — Kavi Doobay, Alex Wong and Evan Wong — were invited by festival adjudicators to compete at the Ontario Music Festivals Association (OMFA) Provincial Finals, which is a major music competition held in June, bringing together the top student performers from all over Ontario. Our student Kavi Doobay placed first province-wide for the score of his original composition “Predator and Prey”, after having secured second place for his performance of it at the Kiwanis Music Festival, as well as a Gold award for his virtual submission to the North York Music Festival. Click here to watch Kavi play his award-winning piece.
Following a rigorous series of performances at the provincial finals, Alex Wong claimed first place in the RCM Level 6 category. Competing against 72 performers, Alex was chosen as one of the 8 playoff finalists. His captive performances of “Sonatina in A Minor” and particularly “Gentle Breeze” in the final round earned the unanimous decision among the four adjudicators, making this a truly remarkable and well-deserved victory.
At the end of the day, the most valuable reward is the real-time, live performance exposure and getting the chance to play your heart out on a piece that you’ve dedicated so much effort towards. It is through experiences like these, that shape and evolve us as musicians over time. We applaud every single one of our students that participated at any music festival or piano exam this year.
Please scroll down and see below for all of our music festival participants, award winners and RCM exam achievers. Want to learn more about how to take part in these music events? Visit this link for more information on piano festivals and exams.
Kiwanis Music Festival 2025
- Liam Mirza – 2nd place (RCM preparatory B)
- Kavi Doobay – gold certificate (RCM level 4, list B)
- Kavi Doobay – 2nd place (original composition, age 13 and under)
- Medha Doobay – 3rd place (RCM level 3, list B)
- Medha Doobay – 1st place (popular, age 9-10)
- Aiden Svoboda – silver certificate (RCM level 4, list B)
- Alex Wong – 1st place (RCM level 6, list A)
- Alex Wong – 1st place (RCM level 6, list B)
- Alex Wong – Kiwanis scholarship award recipient
- Carmen Wong – 1st place (RCM level 3, list A)
- Carmen – silver certificate (RCM level 3, list B)
- Carmen Wong – Kiwanis scholarship award recipient
- Evan Wong – 3rd place (RCM level 2, list A)
- Evan Wong – silver certificate (RCM level 2, etude)
North York Live Music Festival 2025
- Zachary Chan – silver certificate (RCM level 5, list B)
- Accalia Chung – 2nd place (RCM level 2, list B)
- Accalia Chung – 1st place (RCM level 2, etudes)
- Everest Dam – 1st place (RCM level 1, list A)
- Everest Dam – 1st place (RCM level 1, list B)
- Krystal Lam – 1st place (RCM level 2, list B)
- Krystal Lam – 1st place (RCM level 3, list A)
- Nika Meshkati – silver standing (RCM level 2, etude)
- Jenny Pan – 1st place (RCM level 4, list B)
- Penny Pan – 3rd place (RCM level 8, list D)
- Asher Samson – 3rd place (RCM level 1, list B)
- Ayla Sharifi – 3rd place (RCM level 1, list A)
- Ayla Sharifi – 3rd place (RCM level 1, list B)
- James Wong – 2nd place (RCM level 1, list B)
- Caden Yoo – 2nd place (RCM level 3, list C)
- Caden Yoo – 3rd place (RCM level 3, etude)
North York Virtual Music Festival 2025 (gold certificate is the highest award for virtual competitors, who receive a mark of 85% and above)
- Paulette Aharon – gold award (RCM level 3, list C)
- Rowan Aharan – gold award (RCM preparatory B)
- Brayden Chan – gold award (RCM level 5, list A)
- Natalie Chan – gold award (RCM level 4, etude)
- Ashley Lau – gold award (RCM level 3, list C)
- Ashley Lau – gold award (RCM level 4, etude)
- Evan Wong – gold award (RCM level 2, list A)
- Evan Wong – gold award (RCM level 2, etude)
- Evan Wong – gold award (RCM level 2, 2 pieces), selected to take part in provincial finals virtual adjudication
Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Exams 2025
- Zachary Chan – first class honours 88% (RCM level 4 piano)
- Travis Quioc – first class honours 87% (RCM level 9 piano)
- Travis Quioc – first class honours with distinction 92% (RCM level 8 theory)
- Aline Sarmazian – first class honours 81% (RCM level 9 piano)
- Aline Sarmazian – first class honours with distinction 95% (RCM level 9 history)
- Alex Wong – first class honours with distinction 94% (RCM level 6 piano)
- Alex Wong – first class honours with distinction 92% (RCM level 6 theory)
- Yung Xue – honours (RCM level 8 piano)
- Yung Xue – first class honours with distinction 90% (RCM level 8 theory)
