Wednesday, May 15
7:00 p.m.
Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel

Born in November of 2000, Chinese Pianist Yangrui Cai began his piano study at age 4. Between the ages of 8 and 12, he studied with Jay Sun and continued under Dr. Vivian Li of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music since age 12 until college. In 2016, Yangrui was admitted to the Xinghai Conservatory Middle School with a first-place ranking in the national audition. He has since then taken top prizes in all the major national competitions in China. In the past few years, Yangrui has won prizes at major international competitions such as the 7th Sendai International Music Competition in Japan, the 9th Bösendorfer &Yamaha USASU Competition for Young Artists in USA and the most recent Sydney International Piano Competition in 2021. He has also distinguished      himself at the Cliburn International Piano Competition 2022 with an impressive performance. Recently,Yangrui was awarded 4th prize in The Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition 2023 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He was also awarded 1st Prize in 2023 Japan Piano Open international piano competition.

Since a young age, Yangrui has given solo recitals in China, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Italy, France, Canada and the United States; appeared as soloist with Hong Kong Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra in China, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan, TIMM Ensemble in Italy, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra in Slovenia, Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Orchestra and Armenian State Symphony Orchestra. Yangrui was a full scholarship recipient of numerous influential music festivals such as  Morningside Music Bridge and Tanglewood Music Festival. He has performed in masterclasses with Dmitri Bashkirov, Antonio Pompa-Baldi , Stanislav Ioudenitch, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Lev Natochenny, Michel Dalberto, Krzysztof Jablonski, Peter Donohoe, Chengzong Yin, Thai Son Dang, Horacio Gutirrez, Robert Spano and Yefim Bronfman .

Upon his graduation with distinction at the Middle School of Xinghai Conservatory in July 2019, Yangrui was admitted to several prestigious conservatories in the USA with full scholarships. He recently received his Bachelor of Music degree at Oberlin Conservatory, and continuing to pursue his Master of Music at Park University ICM, studying under the tutelage of world-renowned pianist, Professor Stanislav Ioudenitch.