Announcing the Winners of the Steinway Society Competitions

Preparatory School Division

Students from the Carnegie Mellon Music Preparatory School have won several recent competitions hosted by the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania (SSWPA).

The first SSWPA Concerto Competition took place on May 21, 2023 at the Mary Pappert School of Music recital hall at Duquesne University. Leona Chen, a student of Preparatory School faculty member Luz Manríquez, won the competition. The competition was judged by Edward Leonard, Pittsburgh Chamber Orchestra Artistic Director and Conductor; Anne Moskal, Chamber Orchestra Concertmaster and Assistant Teaching Professor in solfège at CMU; and Nathan Hess, Chair, D’Angelo Department of Music, Mercyhurst University. As the winner of the competition, Leona will perform as soloist with the Pittsburgh Chamber Orchestra on September 9, 2023, during the 2023-2024 season.

In addition, in the SSWPA's Young Artist audition on May 19 and 20, students from the Preparatory School were selected to play in the lobby of Heinz Hall before Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concerts in the upcoming 2023-2024 season. The winning students are Victor Zielke, Norah Gruber, Angelina Li, Andrew Li, Andrew Xiong, Alexander Bao Chen, Soham Dam, Leona Chen, Ziqian Peng, Miriam Peng, Evan Park, Karina Coll, Jamie Chen, Leo Meyer, Linda Kong, Kushagra Kiran, Prakhar Kiran and Amy Ai. These students are taught by Preparatory School faculty members Tanya Gelman, Jeff Harris and Luz Manríquez.