The Final Forte

Sophia is a 16-year-old Junior at the Vel Phillips Memorial High School. She has been playing piano since she was four. Her current teacher is Mr. Bill Lutes. Sophia has won numerous awards and honors on piano, including the first place winner of the 2021 Chippewa Valley Symphony’s Young Artist Competition, the 2021 Madison Symphony Orchestra Bolz Young Artist Competition (the Final Forte), the 2021 Walter A. and Dorothy J. Oestreich Concerto Competition of the Concord Chamber Orchestra, the representative of Wisconsin in the 2021 MTNA National Student Competitions in the Junior Piano category, a winner of the National Steinway Junior Piano Competition in 2018 and 2019, the first-place winner of the 2017 Wisconsin Youth Piano Competition organized by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and PianoArts, a winner of the 2017 Madison Symphony Orchestra Fall Youth Concerto Competition, and an honorable mention in the 2017 Midwest Young Artists Walgreens National 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 performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra four times conducted by Maestro Yaniv Dinur at Uihlein Hall in Marcus Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2018. She also performed with Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra conducted by Maestro Nobuyoshi Yasuda at Pablo Center at the Confluence in Eau Claire, WI in 2021. As the past winner, Sophia was invited to perform at the 2019 PianoArts North American Piano Competition and Festival. Sophia was featured in the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Home Is Where the Art Is, Young Artist Series. In 2022, Sophia was invited to serve on the Junior Jury at North American Senior Piano Competition organized by PianoArts and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Sophia is also a violinist, having been a member in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) since 2017. Playing the violin, she got honorable mention in the Stars of Tomorrow Concerto Competition organized by Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2021 and 2022, and performed side by side with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra at the Bradley Symphony Center in Milwaukee, WI in May of 2022. She was also a winner of the Philharmonia Orchestra Concerto Competition of WYSO in 2020.

Besides music, Sophia also excels in tennis. She partnered with her sister Jessica as a doubles team and was placed 4th in the 2020-21 WIAA Alternate Girls Tennis State Individual Tournament. The duo was featured in the Wisconsin State Journal for their feat. Sophia also reached the top 32 in 2021 and 2022 WIAA Girls Tennis State Individual Tournament in the singles draw. She was in the 2022 First Team of the Madison All-Area Girls Tennis Team Singles. Sophia is also on her school’s Track and Field Varsity team, running primarily mid- to long-distance.

Lastly, Sophia wishes to thank Mr. Steve Ayers for his collaboration and valuable advice on the beautiful piano concerto by Grieg.

Lucy Wu, 14, is a Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She studies cello with Dr. Stefan Kartman, Professor of Cello at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Lucy began cello studies at age 7. She won the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition two years in a row and made her solo orchestral debut when she was 10 years old with MYSO. She has also played in the Wisconsin State Honors orchestra, and was awarded an Exemplary Soloist Award at the WSMA State Solo and Ensemble in 2020.

In 2022, Lucy was the recipient of the Anne French Burnham scholarship award at the Schubert Club Competition. She also received second place in the 2021 Camerata Artists International Competition and other distinctions from the DePaul Concerto Festival and the Walter A. and Dorothy J. Oestreich Concerto Competition. She has played for Stephen Balderston, Guy Johnston, Steve Tenenbom, and Tom Rosenberg.

In addition to performing solo, Lucy also enjoys chamber music. In the summer of 2021, she attended the Saint Paul Chamber Music Institute, where she studied with the Jasper String Quartet and performed the famous Schubert Cello Quintet. She has also played chamber music at the MYSO Davidson Chamber Ensemble Program and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. She currently plays in a piano trio at the MIC Academy.

Lucy is a freshman at Whitefish Bay High School, where she is principal of the Chamber Orchestra. She enjoyed playing at UW Steven Point’s fundraiser for Blume Haiti and multiple MYSO fundraisers. Outside of music, she is debate team captain, and a reporter for her school newspaper.