ENCINITAS — Three young pianists who recently won the city’s first-ever piano concert competition will perform alongside the North Coast Symphony Orchestra on June 15.
The first-ever Encinitas Youth Piano Concerto Competition, held earlier this spring, invited young pianists in kindergarten through 12th grade were invited to compete for the first-place prize of a $250 contract to perform one movement of a selected concerto with the orchestra on a Steinway D concert grand piano. The competition received entries from young pianists around the country.
According to Encinitas Arts Commissioner James Hebert, the concept of the competition and concert came from fellow Commissioner Jennifer Marakovits about a year ago. Marakovits is a lifelong music educator who received support from the rest of the commission for her idea.
The city soon partnered with the North Coast Symphony Orchestra to put the plan for the competition and concert into action.
In the end, three winners were selected from the competition to perform with the orchestra:
- Luna Lee, 14, of Poway will play the Rondo from Beethoven’s piano concerto no. 1. She began playing piano when she was 5 years old.
- Max Tran, 14, of Orange County will play the first movement from Shostakovich’s piano concerto no. 1. He attends the Orange County School for the Arts in Santa Ana.
- Frank Luo, 10, of Long Island, New York will play the third movement from Mozart’s piano concerto no. 23. He has been playing piano for the last two and a half years.
“These pianists are amazing,” said Conductor Elan McMahon. “They are playing complicated and tough literature, and they play it with ease and youthful vigor.”
McMahon is a San Diego-area music professional who serves as musical director of Moonlight Stage Productions in Vista and works regularly at the Old Globe and other top area theaters. She has won multiple Craig Noel Awards from the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle.
The concert begins at 2:30 p.m. at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center located at 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive. To purchase tickets, visit www.encinitasca.gov/community/cultural-arts/piano-competition.
General admission tickets cost $15, and a limited number of front row seats are available for $25.
