• Above: Grand Prize: “Facet Grand Piano,” by Jong Chan Kim (USA)

Roland Corporation has announced the winners of its Roland Digital Piano Design Awards – a competition offering an opportunity for forward-thinking designers to create the piano of the future.

 The winning entries are:

• Grand Prize: “Facet Grand Piano,” by Jong Chan Kim (USA)
• Excellence Award: “Sonus,” by Nicola Russo (Italy)
• Incentive Award: “Black Swan,” by Matei Cristescu (Romania)
• Incentive Award: “Amber Unleashed,” by Rebekah Winegarner (USA)
• Incentive Award: “space classica,” by Tomasz Miłosz (Poland)
• Incentive Award: “emptiX,” by Naohisa Uchiyama (Japan), and
• Incentive Award: “Swan,” by Taro Saito (Japan).

Winners were selected from more than 128 works from designers and design students around the world, as evaluated by a judging committee consisting of professionals and experts from Roland Corporation. Entrants were challenged to conceive a digital grand piano of the future that breaks away from tradition, focusing on the look and outer structure of the piano, with the option to propose alternative digital functions and sounds as part of their concept as well. Entries were judged on criteria such as originality, aesthetic superiority, elegance and incorporation of digital piano benefits, all under the contest theme, “unleash.”

Roland Corporation CEO and representative director Jun-ichi Miki made the announcement during Roland’s press conference on January 20, at the 2016 NAMM musical instruments trade show in Anaheim, California.

For a complete list of winners and corresponding images, visit here: http://www.roland.com/promos/piano_design_awards/winners/. 

Excellence Award: “Sonus,” by Nicola Russo (Italy)

Incentive Award: “Amber Unleashed,” by Rebekah Winegarner (USA)

Incentive Award: “emptiX,” by Naohisa Uchiyama (Japan)