Student Honors Recital

2024 Student Honors Recital

Student Honors Recital
Saturday, October 19th, 2024 ~ 5:30 pm

Lullaby by Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)
Eliza Merchant

Jupiter by Gustav Holst (1874 – 1934)
Allegro by Shinichi Suzuki (1898 – 1998)
Esther Merchant

Violin Sonata in A Major, K. 305 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)
Yanina and Elena Ryker

Arabesque Op. 100, No. 2 by Friedrich Burgmüller (1806 – 1874)
Luna Ryker

Waltz, Op. 12, No. 2 by Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907)
Ella Zhang

Grande Valse Brillante, Op. 18 by Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)
Jundi Ke

Sonatina in C Major, Op. 13, No. 1 by Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904 – 1987)
I: Allegro assai e lusingando
Michael Zhu

Waltz in A minor, B. 150, Op. Post by Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)
Jiani Fu

Flight of the Bumble-Bee by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 – 1908)
arr. Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)
Leif Jerde

Tarentelle, Op. 77, No. 6 by Moritz Moszkowski (1854 – 1925)
Norberto Yumang

Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9, No. 1 by Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)
Lingxi Xu

Prelude in C Sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)
Gabriel Vasilescu

Arabesque, L. 66, No. 1 by Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918)
Lila Pistorius

Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63 by Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953)
I: Allegro moderato
Gary Zhen

L’isle Joyeuse, L. 106 by Claude Debussy (1862 – 1918)
Yu-Chieh Yen

Sonata in A minor, Op. 28 by Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953)
Xixi Shen

Eliza Merchant is a 7-year-old homeschooler who loves to sing opera and play piano. She also loves to draw, paint, dance ballet, and swim. Her favorite subjects in our homeschool are reading and science. She also loves to play with her three sisters and newborn baby brother.

Esther Merchant is a 9-year-old homeschool student who loves to play piano, violin, and sing. She also enjoys drawing, painting, doing ballet, and swimming. Her favorite subjects in our homeschool are reading and Spanish. She loves to play with her three younger sisters and newborn baby brother.

Yanina and Elena Ryker have been performing together since they could walk. At the age of 3, they each began playing the violin, focusing on American Folk music. Their passion led them to various fiddling competitions across Florida. With the encouragement of their teacher, Joana, they picked up the piano and started dueting on piano and violin, elevating their music to new heights. At the heart of their performances is a deep support for one another and a desire to share goodness with their community.

Luna Ryker began her piano studies with great determination at the beginning of this year. Inspired by her sister's achievements, she embarked on her own musical journey, eager to create her own path.

Ella Zhang was born and raised in Wellington, Florida. She started playing piano three years ago, at age 5. Ella already has 2 graduations from Suzuki Piano Book 1 & 2, which includes performance of entire book of pieces from memory in recital setting. She was chosen by judges of Palm Beach Judged Musicales to perform in Honors Recitals twice and attended PBAU Pianissimo summer camps as a very motivated young musician. Great musical curiosity inspired Ella to start learning violin last year as well.

11-year-old Jundi Ke began his piano journey at the age of 4 when his mother started to give him piano lessons. Currently, Jundi studies piano with Professor Zheng Wang and has been playing the piano for seven years. Jundi has won several prizes in both national and international piano competitions. For example, Jundi has received first prize at the Miami Frost University of Music 2022 and 2023, first prize at The Tampa Young Artists Music Competition 2022, and more. On Thanksgiving Day of 2022, Jundi also performed Chopin’s polonaise at Carnegie Hall.

My name is Michael Zhu, and I am 12 years old. I have been playing the piano for 7 years. I am in 7th grade, and I like to play outside with my friends or play video games in my free time. I have had different teachers in my time of learning piano, but I think my current one is the most helpful. The trumpet is another instrument I have played, and I have also tried the drums and guitar without any teaching or experience. I am a smart school student; I get straight A’s and have done well in courses that are for people above my grade. I used to also enjoy making comic books, and I made my own series called “The Adventures of Yo-yo Boy.” In my time of piano playing, I have played variety of pieces by popular composers, such as Beethoven and Mozart

Jiani Fu, a student of Hannah Yang, is studying at Trinity Preparatory School. She loves drawing, playing the piano, and reading.

Lief Jerde was born in Whitefish, Montana. He began his piano studies at home, with his mom at the age of 4. He showed such a passion for music and was always playing piano, so she decided to arrange formal lessons when he turned 5. He has studied with Sarah Burdick, Kelly Herd, and Dr. Joanne Smith. He is currently loving his lessons in Naples, Fl. with Dr. Anne McLean. Leif is very excited to participate in various festivals and competitions. He was awarded honorable mention in the South Carolina Music Teachers Association Festival in 2020 and first place in this same festival in 2021, at the age of 10. Since moving to Florida he has continued his love of performing and earned first place in the Tampa Young Artist Competition and second place in the FSMTA Concerto Competition.

Norberto Yumang is a 15-year-old pianist based in West Palm Beach, Florida. He is a sophomore student at A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, majoring in Music and Piano. He has been playing the piano for 8 years, committed to honing his skills and exploring the musical world. Music is something he is passionate about and he specializes in classical pieces. He has always loved to play, starting at around 8 years old through numerous performances, enriching his understanding and appreciation of music. He has had the pleasure of studying under Mrs. Loni White, Dr. Esti Gastesi, and Mrs. Stephanie Katz, with many performances. These experiences have helped him continue to grow as a pianist. When he’s not at the piano, he enjoys working out, sports, or even listening to music because he loves music. Norberto is dedicated to sharing his playing with others and to bringing inspiration through his performances.

Lingxi Xu, a 9th grader with a deep passion for music, began playing the piano early on in elementary school. By the sixth grade, she’d become a musician in the school band by playing the euphonium. Performing at the Florida International University Piano Competitions in 2022 and 2023, Lingxi outstandingly won first place in both and even earned a special award along with a perfect score in 2023. The young artist also placed 3rd at the Charleston International Music Competition in the winter of 2022, and placed 2nd in 2023. In the span of just four years, Lingxi has consistently taken part in the National Piano Playing Audition in the U.S. and received the National Member's senior certificate each time. She has played astounding pieces in a few recitals/performances so far in 2024. With her growing experience and numerous recitals, she is very excited and confident about future

Gabriel Vasilescu started to study piano at 9 years old under the guidance of piano teacher Mrs. Sandra Curless and is working with Mrs. Mary Beth Purchase from 2023. Since 2020, he has received numerous awards. Among these awards, he received the second place at Elite Music Competition 2023, Gold at Quebec Music Competition 2021, Silver at Canadian Music Competition 2022, and performed at Carnegie Hall in 2024. Besides piano he loves math, chess, basketball, and soccer. He is also very passionate about composing and plans to write his own songs in the future.

Lila Pistorius is on the Principal's Honor Roll at St. Thomas Aquinas HS, where she is also a member of a number of academic honor societies, the girls’ flag football team, Campus Ministry, Music Ministry, and a selective group of Student Ambassadors. This year as a junior, she will serve as co-president of Music Ministry, playing piano and helping direct vocalists and other instrumentalists at prayer services before 2,000+ students, faculty and staff. Additionally, as of June 2024, Lila has logged over 310 community service hours. Lila has been studying classical piano with Mrs. Colvert since age 7 and tutors one of the studio's elementary students in performance and theory. She participates in the FSMTA’s annual evaluations and completed Level 10 with Honors in all areas in May 2023.In her free time, Lila enjoys watching professional sports and is an avid Formula 1 racing fan.

Gary Zhen is a Junior at Dreyfoos School for the Arts in West Palm Beach. He has been studying violin with Dr. Hristo Popov at Bellissima Music Academy for the last 8 years. He has performed in many recitals and competitions. Most recently he won First Prize at the PBCMTA Scholarship Competition. He has performed at Carnegie Hall as one of the winners of the Florida Keys Competition.

Yu-Chieh Yen (Midi Recorders), a Taiwanese pianist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Taipei, taught piano at Qingshui Elementary School and Kung Kuan Elementary School from 2020 to 2023. She has also worked as a piano teacher for the renowned music education brands Yamaha and Kawai in Taiwan. Currently, she is advancing her studies in piano performance at the master’s level at Florida Atlantic University under the guidance of Dr. Irena Kofman.

Xixi Shen is a Ph.D. Candidate majoring in Piano Pedagogy at Florida State University. She also serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for group piano classes. Xixi earned her Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, where she gained extensive experience singing music from around the world and learning about their cultures at the same time through courses and the choir. She completed her Master's Degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy at Temple University in Philadelphia. During her study at Temple University, she focused on piano performance and collaborations, where she raised awareness of building a healthy piano-playing routine. Xixi's passion lies in promoting piano wellness and exploring diverse musical styles. Her goal is to help students develop healthy piano-playing habits and expose them to a wide range of repertoire from around the world.