Spotlight: Brandon Liu (1st Grade) – Award Winning Pianist
Brandon Liu is in the 1st grade in Kids Connection. In February 2018, Brandon competed in the United States Open Music Competition (USOMC). The USOMC was founded in 1992 and is an extremely comprehensive piano competition that both challenges and rewards students of all ages. Brandon took first place (gold medal) and third place (bronze medal) with his two piano pieces! This is the second year that Brandon attended, also winning a gold medal in 2017.
Brandon started playing piano just two years earlier, when he was five. He loves music. Piano is considered a foundation instrument which allows the musician to more easily segue into other instruments. This is the first instrument which Brandon learned and loves. He loves the accomplishment of learning a new piece and tries to tell the story of its history, culture and emotion through his playing.
Brandon likes challenges and is very competitive. He has taken private lessons from the start and tries to improve himself daily by practicing for a minimum of 45 minutes. Brandon participates in international music competitions (USOMC) and takes piano exams through the United Kingdom’s largest world leading music education body ABRSM (Associate Board of the Royal Schools of Music). The competitions motivate him to work hard on his piano skills.
Even though practicing piano takes long hours and a lot of dedication, Brandon is still very advanced in academics, with help from Mrs. Barbi, Mrs. Robinette, Mrs. James and all of the teachers from Kids Connection. They have showed him how fun learning can be and he gets to connect his history and geography knowledge to the music that he plays. He also tries to link the stories and emotions in the books that he reads to the piano pieces that he plays. Kids Connection helped Brandon to grow into a self-motivated, curious and confident child, who understands that accomplishment in academics, music, and life can only come from hard work.
Albert Einstein said that “Life is like a piano, what you get out of it depends on how you play it.” Brandon has just started his journey in music and has a lifelong path in front of him.
