Winners of 2023 Competition
WORLD CHAMPION
Jay Winston (NJ, USA)
ALL-AROUND WINNERS
First Place: Ayna Ziordia Botella (Spain)
Second Place: Molly Lewis (CA, USA)
Third Place: Yuki Takeda (Japan)
LEVEL 3 LIVE BAND DIVISION
First Place: Ayna Ziordia Botella (Spain)
Second Place: Jay Winston (NJ, USA)
Third Place: Molly Lewis (CA, USA)
Breakout Award: Mike Shenin (Canada)
LEVEL 3 CLASSICAL PRE-RECORDED ACCOMPANIMENT
First Place: Jay Winston (NJ, USA)
Second Place: Yuki Takeda (Japan)
Third Place: Brian Crowley (CA, USA)
HIKIFUKI (SELF-ACCOMPANIMENT) DIVISION
First Place: Yuki Takeda (Japan)
Second Place: Davitt Felder (CA, USA)
Third Place: Ryan Engstrom (CA, USA)
LEVEL 2 POPULAR PRE-RECORDED ACCOMPANIMENT DIVISION
First Place: Ryan Engstrom (CA, USA)
Second Place: Gabriel Perkins (GA, USA)
Third Place: Matthew Johll (IA, USA)
LEVEL 2 CLASSICAL PRE-RECORDED ACCOMPANIMENT DIVISION
First Place: Ryan Engstrom (CA, USA)
Second Place: Rajapillai Pillai (MA, USA)
Third Place: Etienne Devaux (France)
LEVEL 1 POPULAR PRE-RECORDED ACCOMPANIMENT DIVISION
First Place: Ben Shannon (Canada)
Second Place: Eve Rucker (CA, USA)
Third Place: Nadia Turner (CA, USA)
ALLIED ARTS DIVISION
First Place: Emily Kehmeier (CA, USA)
Second Place: Ayna Ziordia Botella (Spain)
Third Place: Hikari Fukushima (Japan)
KIDS
First Place: Angela Zhao (USA)
Second Place: Sumire Watanabe-Shannon (Canada)
Third Place: Taein Kim (CA, USA)
ALLEN DEHART AWARD 2023
Awarded to those who are expanding the awareness, recognition, and enjoyment of whistling as an art.
Linda Hamilton (USA)
Winners of 2019 Competition
WORLD CHAMPION
Akiko Shibata (Japan)
All-Around Winners:
First Place Female: Akiko Shibata (Japan)
First Place Male: Yuki Takeda (Japan)
Second Place: Yuki Takeda (Japan)
Third Place: Marisa Pons (Spain)
Stage 3 Live Band Division
First Place: Christian Smeltzer (USA, NY)
Second Place: Marisa Pons (Spain)
Third Place: Akiko Shibata (Japan)
Stage 3 Classical Pre-Recorded Accompaniment
First Place: Akiko Shibata (Japan)
Second Place: Yudai Takenaka (Japan)
Third Place: Marisa Pons (Spain)
Stage 3 Hikifuki (Self-Accompanied) Division
First Place: Yuki Takeda (Japan)
Second Place: Yudai Takenaka (Japan)
Third Place: Akiko Shibata (Japan)
Stage 2 Popular Pre-Recorded Accompaniment Division
First Place: Emily Kehmeier (USA)
Second Place: David Eberius (USA)
Third Place: Barbara Jauslin (USA)
Stage 1 Popular Pre-Recorded Accompaniment Division
(Whistlers new to public or competition whistling)
First Place: Ryan Engstrom (USA)
Second Place: Ian Delgado (USA)
Third Place: Kendall Elbert (USA)
Stage 2 Classical Pre-Recorded Accompaniment Division
First Place: Brad Gassner (USA)
Second Place: Micah Amundsen (USA)
Third Place: Barbara Jauslin (USA)
Allied Arts Division
First Place: Akiko Shibata (Japan)
Second Place: Tracy Echeverri (USA)
Third Place: Yudai Takenaka (Japan)
Allen deHart Award 2019
Awarded to those who are expanding the awareness, recognition, and enjoyment of whistling as an art.
Female - Kimiko Wakiyama (Japan)
Male - Mitch Hider. (USA)
Winners of 2017 Competition
Lauren Elder
Derek Bodkin
World Champion - Derek Bodkin, Monterey, California
Best All-Around
1st Female - Lauren Elder, NY, New York
1st Male - Derek Bodkin, Monterey, California
2nd - Yuki Takeda, Japan
3rd - Chris Lee, California
Live Band
3rd - Chris Lee, Freemont, California - Wind
2nd - Lauren Elder, NY,NY - Flyin' Home, Benny Goodman
1st - Derek Bodkin, Monterey, CA - Lady Be Good, Gershwin
Self-accompaniment / aka "Hikifuki"
3rd - Derek Bodkin, California - on Guitar
2nd - Yuki Takeda, Japan on the "Quatro"
1st - Lauren Elder, NY,NY - Original Composition w/Ukulele
Popular Pre-Recorded
3rd - Steve Herbst, NY, NY
2nd - Tormod Borgen Rogne, Norway
1st - Derek Bodkin, Monterey, California
Classical Pre-Recorded
3rd - Ryosuke Takeuchi, Japan
2nd - Chris Lee, Freemont, California
1st - Jeffrey Amos, Toronto, Canada
THE ALLEN DEHART AWARD
Honorary award given to the person who is expanding the awareness, enjoyment, and respect of
musical whistling as a fine art.
Geert Chatrou
&
"Whistling" Tom Bryant
Winners of 2015 Competition
THE ALLEN DEHART AWARD
Honorary award given to a person who is expanding the awareness, enjoyment, and respect of
musical whistling as a fine art.
Ryosuke Takeuchi (Japan)
The first winner of the award was chosen by the board of the Masters of Musical Whistling for his ongoing world-wide contribution to the world of whistling competition and "Hikifuki" (self-accompaniment) style of musical whistling
WORLD CHAMPION - Master of Musical Whistling"
(Top Cumulative Scores in Two Divisions)
Yasunori Okuno (Japan)
Pre-Recorded Background Music Division
1st Place: Terry Rappold (U.S.A.) / Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
2nd Place: Yasunori Okuno (Japan) / Zauberkraft, composed - Masashi Hamauzu, arrangement - Yasunori Okuno
3rd Place: Steve Herbst (U.S.A.) / Claire de Lune - Claude Debussy
Live Band Accompaniment Division
(In the spirit of the International Whistling Convention and beliefs of the board of the Masters of Musical Whistling, this division honors two high scoring performers, male and female, to make sure there is an outstanding female whistler who can serve as an ambassador for the art of musical whistling and inspire other women to join ranks of professional whistlers.)
1st Place (Male): Eric Gradman (U.S.A.) / Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
1st Place (Female): Molly Lewis (U.S.A.) / So Wrong - Patsy Cline
2nd Place: Yasunori Okuno (Japan) / Rosenkrantz - Masashi Hamauzu
3rd Place: Francesco Bonifazi (U.S.A.) / Blue Skies - Irving Berlin
Self-Accompaniment Division
1st Place: Francesco Bonifazi (U.S.A.) / Take The A Train - Duke Ellington (Guitar)
2nd Place: Ryosuke Takeuchi (Japan) / Let It Go - Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez (Guitar)
3rd Place: Laura Loftsgarden (U.S.A.) / Mmmm Bop - Hansen (Autoharp)