Dong-Wan Ha, a doctoral piano student of Alan Chow, won first place and $15,000 in the 2016 Kerikeri International Piano Competition in New Zealand.

The Kerikeri International Piano Competition is New Zealand’s only international piano competition. Open to pianists under 28 years of age, the competition takes place in early July at the Turner Centre in Kerikeri. Fifteen contestants were selected from the initial applicant pool of 62 entries and four contestants advanced to the final round of competition.

Dong-Wan Ha previously won two other international piano competitions in 2016 – the Neue Sterne International Piano Competition in Germany and the Delia Steinberg International Piano Competition in Spain. He received a total of €10,000 in awards from those two competitions.

Ha has won several other national and international competitions, including prizes in the Korean Piano Duo Competition and Joong-ang National Music Competition in South Korea, the Glasgow International Competition of Young Pianists in the Scotland, and the Asia Chopin International Competition in Japan.