James Yi is an Absolute Winner of the 11th edition of the World’s Best Musicians Competition in piano from USA (age group: F – 17 and 18 y.o.).
The jury recognized this outstanding artistic presentation for its exceptional quality, musical personality, and strong interpretative vision.
James Yi, age 17, has been studying piano with Dr. Irina Koulikova since age 5. With his talent and love for music visible at a very early age, he began performing on the concert stage, playing at the prestigious Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York (2017) when he was only 8 years old. After this successful performance, he continued to participate in various piano competitions in DC, MD, and VA, receiving several awards and prizes. He played at Carnegie Hall in New York (2017, 2018, 2022, 2024, 2025), the Terrace Theatre at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC (2018, 2021), The Mansion at Strathmore, and the WMTA Viola Hartman Awards at the Catholic University of America, among others. In addition, he received the MSMTA award for high achievement in the Level 8 Music Theory testing. He has won awards in the MSMTA Spring Festival, Charleston International Music Competition (4th prize, 2022; 2nd prize, 2023; 1st prize, 2024, 2025), and won 1st prize in the American Fine Arts Festival Competition “Golden Era of Romantic Music” (2024, 2025) and was invited to play in the Winners' Recital at Carnegie Hall. Alongside studying piano and musical performance, he actively participates in his school’s robotics team, winning several local and regional-level competitions, and is a staff writer for his school’s newspaper. He is passionate about engineering, applied math and statistics, the links between innovation, political thought, and society, and enjoys volunteering in his community.
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