Student from Washtenaw International High School is 2019 recipient

(Rochester, MI) The Rochester Symphony Orchestra (RSO) is proud to announce the winner of its 2019 Young Artist Competition. Shuheng Zhang, 16, a pianist and student at Washtenaw International High School, captured the title this year. He is a proud young scholar of The Lang Lang International Foundation, and joined the Young Scholar Program, which offers mentorship and unique opportunities for performance to exceptionally talented young pianists from around the world.

The young pianist has won top prizes in many competitions including Thousand Islands International Competition, David Dubois Piano Competition, Lee University International Piano Competition, and MTNA and MMTA competitions. He has been featured as a soloist, and performed concerts with orchestras from Alfred, New York to Saarlouis, Germany. Chicago Music Report lauded Zhang’s performance of Mozart Piano Concerto No. 23 with Midwest Young Artists Orchestra as “invigorating, incisive and note-perfect.”

In addition, he participated in the 6th Emanacja International Music Festival in Lusławice, Poland, and performed a highly acclaimed recital together with two other Lang Lang young scholars at the The Krzysztof Penderecki European Center for Music.

As winner of the 2019 Young Artist Competition sponsored by the RSO, Zhang received $1,000 and an opportunity to perform with the RSO on Friday, May 17 at 8 pm at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, located at 620 Romeo Street in Rochester. The evening is entitled “Journey Against Time and Continents.”

Tickets are priced from $5 to $25.

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The Young Artist Competition is an annual event open to talented student musicians under the age of 22. For additional information, call Rita May, vice president of the RSO Board of Directors, at 248-652-9154.

The 2018 winner of the Young Artist Competition was pianist Jubilee Wang, a 16 year-old sophomore (at the time of the competition) at North Farmington High School.

The mission of the Rochester Symphony Orchestra is to enrich the cultural experiences available in the Greater Rochester area through excellence in symphonic music.

The Rochester Symphony Orchestra began in 1961 as part of the Department of Adult Education of the Rochester Board of Education. The small group of musicians were determined to share the enjoyment of making music with the people of their community..

The RSO offers subscription concerts, which feature noted guest artists and soloists. In addition to its subscription concerts, the RSO also conducts educational and outreach programs in the community, including the annual Young Artist Competition, which the orchestra has held since 1982.