Piano Competition Winners from our Studio

I’m delighted to announce our winners, Karis Liao and Ianna Liu, who competed in the PMTA Performance Contest in February. This experience has shown me how talented our students truly are and I am very proud of their hard work and dedication!

There will be a few more students entering the Trophy Competition in May! Of course, I am thrilled when my students engage in competition, but it’s always wise to remember that winning competitions is just a small part of the whole experience.

Competitions train students to do their best in a stressful environment, and the personal growth gained through these experiences will serve them well throughout their lives, scholastically or professionally. Pushing their playing to a higher level with a little bit of stress certainly has real-life applications.

I always remind my students that, in truth, the only person they must compete against is themselves. Even though we cannot control the level and skill of the others we are competing against, we can control how much we push ourselves to reach our personal best. 

Put another way, if their playing reaches a higher level in preparation for a competition, then that is a success and a great accomplishment in its own right—I think that Karis and Ianna’s wins demonstrate this well.

Wishing everyone good luck in the upcoming competitions!