New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Yamaha
Music Education
System will showcase the compositions of three remarkable pianists at this year's
Junior Original Concert (JOC). The JOC features the original compositions of Yamaha
Music Students from across the country and will take place at the 2019 NAMM show, the largest musical instrument convention in North America.
The concert will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, January 24, 2019 on the Main Demo Stage in the Keyboard area of the Yamaha booth, located in the Anaheim Marriott Hotel Marquis Ballroom. All NAMM badge holders are invited to attend the concert, free-of-charge.
Kyle Yeung, age 10, a student at the Harmony
Music World
Institute in Fullerton, California, will perform his original piano composition "The Matador." Yeung says that the surprising twists in his piece were inspired by Halloween, one of his favorite holidays. Although this will be his first NAMM show, Yeung is no stranger to
Junior Original Concerts. In fact, he performed at the
National JOC at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in Cerritos, California in 2018. The young pianist, who began writing his own compositions at the age of five, has also won numerous top accolades including first prize at both the Golden Classical
Music Awards International Competition and AADGT International Young Gifted Musicians Festival.
Kylie Shea Smith, age 14, a student at East Valley Yamaha
Music School in Chandler, Arizona, will perform her piano composition "In Memory of Rocky," alongside euphonium player, Brian C. Wilson, at this year's show. Her piece is an ode to her grandparents' late dog, Rocky. "The last section of the piece represents the
Rainbow Bridge where Rocky will play and frolic until he is reunited with his family," says Smith. The Arizona-native has been performing at
Junior Original Concerts and at NAMM for several years, including the
National Junior Original Concert (NJOC) in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and the International JOC in Tokyo in 2014 and 2018. Although Smith plans to enter the medical field someday, she hopes to continue playing music and writing creatively in her spare time.
Zoe Kraus, age 13, a Heid
Music student from Appleton, Wisconsin, will perform her original piano composition "Tickle Me Pink," the musical story of a tickle fight. The pianist, who also sings, dances, and plays the oboe, will be accompanied by clarinetist, Brian Walsh, bassist, Eric Sittner and drummer, M.B. Gordy. Kraus says the piece mimics the uncontrollable, red-in-the-face laughter of a tickle fight. Although this will be Kraus' first NAMM show, she has attended several NJOCs in previous years, and won numerous awards in Wisconsin.
Established in 1954, the proven Yamaha
Music Education
System helps enhance the offerings of music schools and music instrument dealers in 40 countries worldwide. In the United States, more than 60 locations are authorized to teach the Yamaha method. To date, over six million students from around the world have graduated from the program, and many of them have become professional musicians. The goal of the Yamaha
Music Education
System is to nurture an overall sense, appreciation and love for making and sharing music.
Yamaha
Junior Original Concerts showcase the talents of top-achieving students at Yamaha
Music Schools and take place annually around the world. They have been held at such prestigious venues at The Kennedy Center, Wiener Konzerthaus, Salle Gaveau and Carnegie Hall.
For more information, please visit the Yamaha Booth at the 2018 NAMM Show in the Anaheim Marriott Hotel, Marquis Ballroom, January 24-28, 2019, or https://yamaha.io/2zmKCX4
