14-YEAR-OLD JOSHUA JI WINS THE 2019 PORTLAND PIANO INTERNATIONAL PIANO CONCERTO COMPETITION
Posted on October 9, 2019
CORVALLIS, OR – Congratulations to Sunset High School sophomore Joshua Ji on winning the 2019 Portland Piano International / SOLO Piano Concerto Competition, presented in partnership with Portland Youth Philharmonic. As part of his prize, Joshua will perform George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto with PYP on the orchestra’s upcoming tour to Corvallis and their 96th Season opener in November at the Schnitzer.
“One of my favorite things about music is that it transcends all barriers between people,” says Joshua. “I’ve made a lot of friends who are older, younger, and even from different countries/cultures that I wouldn’t have been able to connect with if it weren’t for music.”
The Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra and conductor Dr. Marlan Carlson will present Joshua and PYP in concert on Sunday, October 27, 2019, at 3:00 PM in the Austin Auditorium at the LaSells Stewart Center on the Oregon State University Campus. All seats are $5. Tickets may be purchased online at www.portlandyouthphil.org/corvallis or at the door.
The performance will include American composer George Gershwin’s expressive, jazz-inspired Piano Concerto, performed by 14-year-old Joshua Ji. The orchestra will also present Amy Beach’s Gaelic Symphony, the first full length orchestral work published by an American woman composer (1894), and the pulsating Batuque (1941), based on an Afro-Brazilian dance from an opera by Brazilian composer Oscar Lorenzo Fernández.
Two weeks later on Saturday, November 9, 2019, PYP and conductor David Hattner will return to the historic Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for the official opening of their astonishing 96th season. The November performance will feature the same program and soloist as the Corvallis performance.
Full details and season packages can be found at www.portlandyouthphil.org/concerts.