FGCU music major wins major competitions

Hyae-jin Hwang COURTESY PHOTO Hyae-jin Hwang, a junior music major at the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast University, has been selected as winner of the "Ars Flores Young Artists Concerto Competition" for university and music conservatory students up to the age of 25. The competition attracted a strong field of contestants throughout the United States and Canada. As winner of the competition, Hwang will perform as soloist in Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 25.

Ms. Hwang, a student of FGCU professor Michael Baron, had also recently won the Byrd Memorial Award sponsored by the Florida Music Teachers Association in Orlando as well as a $2,500 prize awarded by the Artist Series of Sarasota Music Performance Competition.

Nancy Cobb-Lippens, director of the Bower School of Music said, "Hyae-jin has brought honor not only to the Bower School of Music, but also to Florida Gulf Coast University. I congratulate her for this outstanding achievement."