Sophia Jiang, winner of the 2017 Madison Symphony Orchestra Fall Youth Concerto Competition, plays Beethoven and shares reflections about the piano, violin and music.
A new story in the “Young Artist Series” features Sophia Jiang, winner of the 2017 Madison Symphony Orchestra Fall Youth Concerto Competition. Sophia performs Beethoven’s Bagatelle in C major, op. 33, no. 5.
Following her performance, Sophia shares her feelings about playing piano and violin, and how she was inspired to learn piano from listening to her older sister Jessica practicing. She shares her desire for preserving the legacy of classical music, and memories of how incredibly breathtaking it was to perform with the Madison Symphony Orchestra — enjoying every single moment. She expresses how music brings people together, and more.
About Sophia Jiang
Sophia is an incoming freshman at Madison Memorial High School. She has been playing piano since she was four. Her current teacher is Mr. Bill Lutes. Sophia was a winner of the National Steinway Junior Piano Competition (1st place, Division II, Appleton site, 2019; 2nd place, Division II, Madison site, 2018). She was the first-place winner of the 2017 Wisconsin Youth Piano Competition organized by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and PianoArts, and a winner of the 2017 Madison Symphony Orchestra Fall Youth Concerto Competition. Sophia debuted as a soloist with the Madison Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro John DeMain at the Overture Center in Madison, Wisconsin in 2017. She also performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra four times conducted by Maestro Yaniv Dinur at Uihlein Hall in Marcus Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2018. As the past winner, Sophia was invited to perform at the 2019 PianoArts North American Piano Competition and Festival. Sophia was a winner of the Wisconsin Music Teachers Association (WMTA) State Badger Keyboard Competition from 2017 to 2019. She also won multiple prizes in the global online Great Composers Competition series in 2017, taking First Prize in Best Mozart Performance, Second Prize in Best Chopin Performance and Artist of the Year. In 2017, Sophia received honorable mention in the Midwest Young Artists Walgreens National Concerto Competition. She also won first place in the Sonatina Festival, Verona, Wisconsin, in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Sophia performed in various masterclasses taught by world famous pianists, including Roberto Plano, Paola Del Negro and Shai Wosner. In addition to piano, Sophia plays violin. She has been a member in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) since 2017, and was a concertmaster in the Sinfonietta Orchestra, from which she received the inaugural Mark. R Leiser Award in 2018. She was a winner of the 2020 Philharmonia Orchestra Concerto Competition of WYSO playing violin. She won gold medals in the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) state-level Solo and Ensemble in 2018 playing violin. Sophia loves music, and has participated in many recitals. Besides music, she is an avid reader and writer, and excels in tennis, winning the championship of the High School Girls Junior Varsity group in the 2018 MadCity Tennis Open at the age of eleven.
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Experience Sophia Jiang’s video story that is a part of the “Home Is Where the Art Is, Young Artist Series”:
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