Wells School of Music Piano Student Wins Streak of International Awards
A Wells School of Music student earning her Masters Degree in Piano Performance was recently awarded in four high-profile, international piano competitions.
Yanzhima Tsybikova, who came to West Chester’s Wells School of Music early in 2020 to study with Assistant Professor of Piano, Dr. Igor Resnianski, placed 3rd for her age group in the Piano Solo Artist division in the 2020 Putra International Piano Competition. Results were announced in December 2020. She also placed 3rd in the piano division of the VI Cyprus International Competition, which was held in a remote format from December 1 – 12, 2020. Tsybikova won 2nd prize, senior school division, in the Malaysia International Music Competition, organized by the Chopin Society. The results were announced on January 10, 2021. Most recently, Tsybikova was the 1st Prize Winner in the Philadelphia’s 2021 Triumph Music Festival. It is yet to be determined whether winners, as is typical in a non-COVID year, will perform at Philadelphia’s famed Academy of Music in April.
Hundreds of competitors from around the world this year submitted virtual video auditions
for these international competitions. The largest of the four was the Malaysia International
Music Competition, for which Tsybikova was chosen as a winner over more than 500 applicants.
Jury panels for all were comprised of world-renown pianists and teachers.
Prior to coming to West Chester University in 2020, Tsybikova studied in Russia, graduating from Novosibirsk Specialized Music School under the tutelage of Irina Berman in 2014. In 2019, she received a Bachelor degree with distinction at the Russian Gnesins Academy of Music in Moscow, where she studied with Sofia Ruchimskaya.
In addition to her recent awards, Tsybikova’s awards also include 2nd Prize in the International Piano Competition “Gran Klavier” in Madrid, Spain (2017), 2nd Prize in the International Piano Competition “Citta di Spoleto” in Spoleto, Italy (2017), Grand Prize in the International Competition of Art in Samara, Russia (2016), 2nd Prize in the 10th International Competition “Romanticism: its Origins and Beyond” in Moscow (2018.)
Links to Tsybikova performing Rachmaninoff’s Etude-tableaux op.30, No. 3 and Mendelssohn’s Fantasia in F-sharp major can be found here and here.
West Chester University’s Wells School of Music offers students an outstanding opportunity in concentrated performance and musicianship through its educational centerpiece — the Applied Music Department. The School’s superior performance and practice venues include 22 new Steinways, Skinner organ, tech lab, Roland piano lab, and more. Students study with renowned faculty who have dual careers as dedicated educators and professional musicians. Faculty provide private lessons for all music students and are the directors for numerous student ensembles. The School supports a wide variety of performance degrees, including a Bachelor of Music in Performance, as well as a Master of Music in Performance. Graduates pursue successful careers at major institutions and teach music education at home and abroad.