YouTube Competition 2018 Finalists

We submitted our 2018 Piano Marvel YouTube Competition video entries a couple of weeks ago... and here are all the Piano Academy students who made it to the finals!

Early Elementary (ages 5-7)

Gabby Henry

Joseph Larson

Late Elementary (ages 8-10)

Arthur Cummins

Parker Woodward

Middle School (ages 11-13)

Dorothea Bernard

Samia Bitter

Kian Colman

Edward Kim

Brigham Larson, Jr.

Alex McDougal

Rory McDougal

Mark Mansfield

Tiffany Orocio

Jenna Staheli

Jessica Wood

Max Wright

High School (ages 14-19)

Abigail Ingoldsby

Ensemble

Joseph and Joshie Larson

We are SO proud of all of our students who put in the work to enter the competition. Check out the playlist of all the UPC entries:

One of the coolest things about the YouTube competition is getting to see the progress each student makes from year to year. For comparison, we made a special playlist on our YouTube channel of the students who participated in the competition both years. Each student's videos from last year and this year are side by side so you can literally hear the difference. Not only do students get better technically, their ability to play expressively improves dramatically in just a year. Here's the comparison playlist:

Regardless of who wins, entering a competition like this has lots of benefits. Perfecting a piece enough to compete often pushes a student to a new level of dedication and playing ability. The next time they come upon a difficult piece or situation, they're more likely to tackle it with determination instead of trepidation. Recording a piece is a different type of performing than a recital, but it still helps improve our performance skills. Students can also listen to each take throughout the recording process, which sharpens critical listening skills. Besides all this, it's super fun to have a great video to show your friends, grandparents, teachers, and others when they ask how piano lessons are going.

The winners of the competition will be posted here on Friday. We're cheering for each of our pianists!