Zildjian Announces 2013 Kerope Zildjian Scholarship Competition Winner

Zildjian announced that Ethan Ahmed from the University of Southern California is the winner of the 2013 Kerope Zildjian Scholarship.   Ethan is a student of Jim Babor.  Ethan will receive a $5,000 tuition award, an all expense paid trip to the Zildjian factory, and cymbals of his choice.

The two runner-up winners – Wai Chi Tang from the Manhattan School of Music, a student of Duncan Patton and Michael Jopling from Carnegie Mellon University, a student of Jeremy Branson –  will both receive a special cymbal package selected by them.

The first round of competition was judged by James Campbell from the University of Kentucky.   Ten finalists were chosen and their unmarked CD’s were sent to Cynthia Yeh, Principal Percussionist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.    The other seven finalists were:

Sean Van Winkle, New England Conservatory, a student of Frank Epstein

Colin McCall, Eastman School of Music, a student of Michael Burritt

Alison Chorn, Cleveland State University, a student of Tom Freer

John Thomas III, Florida State University, a student of John Parks

Bryn Lutek, McGill University, a student of Aiyun Huang

Steven White, Northwestern University, a student of She-e Wu

Robert Oldroyd, Boston Conservatory, a student of Nancy Zeltsman

The Kerope Zildjian scholarship is an opportunity for the Zildjian family to pay tribute to Kerope Zildjian, who presided over one of the most-storied periods in Zildjian history. From 1865 until his death in 1909 in Constantinople, Kerope continued to develop the classic K. Zildjian sound, coveted by the world's greatest percussionists. In memory of Kerope's deep commitment to the art of craftsmanship, the Zildjian family established this scholarship to encourage and reward percussionists in their pursuit of performing excellence. 

Visit http://zildjian.com/News-Events/2013/9/2013-Kerope-Scholarship-Winner to view video and a full news story about the winner.

Photo: Ethan Ahmed.