Two young pianists, including a 16-year-old from Lawrence, will be featured at a virtuosic concert this Saturday.
Matthew Liu, of Lawrence, and Eddison Chen, of Overland Park, will share their talents onstage during the Mid-America Performing Arts Alliance’s “Piano Prodigies” concert, according to a news release from the organization.
“This concert is all about the incredible local talent that we have right here in the Kansas City Metropolitan area,” MAPAA Executive Director Jesse Henkensiefken said in the release. “Both of these artists have a huge career ahead of them, and we are so lucky to have them perform on our series.”
During the first half of the program, Liu will be featured, performing Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 21.” He’ll be accompanied by the MAPAA String Quartet, which includes Gemma Shin, Evan Flynn, Boris Vayner and Henkensiefken. He’ll then perform the first movement of Chopin’s “Sonata for Piano No. 2.”
Liu, 16, was recently named a 2024 National YoungArts Winner in Classical Music/Piano. In 2023, he won a gold medal in the Rubato International Piano Competition, the first prize in MTNA senior piano regional and the third prize in the national final. He had accumulated several accolades prior. In both 2022 and ‘23, Liu performed with the Kansas City Symphony and Fort Collins Health and Wellness Community Orchestra.
He currently attends Lawrence Virtual School and studies piano with Jack Winerock at the University of Kansas.
The second half of the program will feature Chen’s performance. Chen, 14, is an eighth grader in Overland Park who’s also won top prizes in several major competitions and been selected to perform in prestigious concerts.
“Piano Prodigies” is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, 1631 Crescent Road in Lawrence. It’s free to attend, and no tickets are needed.
MAPAA is a Kansas nonprofit organization that partners with professional musicians to provide education and mentorship to young Midwestern musicians and is “committed to transcending the elitism that is often associated with classical music,” according to the release. All of its events and concerts are free and open to the public.
Visit mapaa.org for more information about MAPAA and its 2023-24 season.
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