The 11-year-old Jia Keke, a Chinese from Alberta, won the National Piano Competition (picture)

The 11-year-old Jia Keke, a Chinese from Alberta, won the first prize at the National Piano Competition (picture). In the 2012 National Piano Competition held in New York on March 24, the state...

The 2012 held in New York on March 24 In the 2016 National Piano Competition, Katrina Jia, an 11-year-old girl from the state, won the junior high school category with her vivid performance and superb skills. At the same time, she also won the Best Chopin Performance Award established by the Chopin Foundation in this year's competition. The annual National Piano Competition, sponsored by the National Association of Music Teachers, is the only national piano competition in the United States. To qualify for the national finals, contestants must place first in their state and seven regional competitions across the country. The age group for the junior high school group is eleven to fourteen years old. This greatly increases the difficulty of selection. Jia Keke represented the Southwest District in the finals and was the youngest contestant in this competition. Contestants include many foreign students who come to the United States to study, and many of them have won awards in various international competitions. The six pieces that Jia Keke participated in represented the styles of all important musical historical periods. She performed these works with clear layers, varied timbres, subtle emotions, and a perfect style. Her mature understanding of music and heartfelt performance were highly praised by the judges. She stood out among seven finalists and convincingly won first place.

Jia Keke

Photos from the competition

Jia Keke started learning piano from the nationally renowned piano educator Mr. Xu Fei at the age of five. One year later, he hosted three family recitals, showing his musical talent and potential very early. With the support and strict requirements of her parents, she worked very hard to pursue high quality and perfect playing in practice. Continuously winning awards in various important piano competitions in Alberta over the years has increased Coco's self-confidence and playing experience, laying the foundation for participating in this major competition.

New Century Music School, taught by teachers Xu Fei and Zhu Hong, has cultivated many outstanding students in the past ten years, and has frequently won awards in domestic and international piano competitions. In the past eight years, students have represented the Southwest Region in five of the finals of the National Piano Competition and won the national championship three times.