The Gilmore – Rising Stars Series | Aliya Alsafa and Jeffrey Chin

Aliya Alsafa, is a pianist from Chicago, Illinois. She currently attends the Juilliard Pre-College as a student of Prof. Matti Raekallio. Recently, Aliya was named a Steinway Young Artist.

Last summer, through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, she performed for the Andermatt Swiss Alps Classics Festival. She has also participated in the Gilmore Rising Star Series and the Leeds International Music Festival in the United Kingdom. In 2018, Aliya played in the Holland Music Sessions in Den Hoorn, Netherlands. Aliya attends Special Music High School in Manhattan. Her other interests include dance, composition, computer science, and badminton.

“I am very thankful to have been selected as a Lang Lang Young Scholar! Music is a powerful gift that promotes the exchange of new ideas and perspectives. As a pianist, I hope to put more warmth in the hearts of others through music. The Lang Lang Young Scholars Program allows me to further my dream by introducing this inspiring form of communication throughout the world. I’m so excited to be part of an international music community. Under the mentorship of Lang Lang, as well as friendships with my fellow young scholars, I look forward to making a positive difference through classical music.”

Through recent years, Aliya has been the recipient of special honors and awards. She won First Prize in numerous piano competitions including the Emilio Del Rosario Concerto Competition, Sejong Music Competition, Chopin Youth Piano Competition, and Walgreens National Concerto Early Music Division. Some of her current recognitions include, “Best Chopin Etude” at the 2017 Seattle International Piano Competition; she won First Prize in state and regional contests and Second Prize nationally in MTNA for composition; and, as MostArts youngest competitor, Aliya played with the festival orchestra at Miller Theater and received the Audience Favorite award.

Aliya has been praised for her artistry and musical sensitivity. She has performed in several prestigious concert venues throughout the country: Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Ravinia Bennett Gordon Hall, Harris Theater, Merkin, and Benaroya Hall. Aliya also played for Orchestra Hall at Chicago’s Symphony Center for the “Keys to the City” festival hosted by Emanuel Ax.

In 2013, Aliya was one of twelve pianists worldwide, selected for the inaugural Allianz Junior Music Camp through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. She played in a masterclass as well as outreach concerts for schools in Munich, Germany.

At a young age, Aliya discovered her passion for music and began lessons at age four. She currently studies piano performance at the Juilliard Pre-College as a student of Prof. Matti Raekallio. Her other teachers and mentors, current or former, include Ms. Sueanne Metz, pianist and president of 88Keys to Cure (a NFP); Mary Sauer, Principal Pianist of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Director of New Music School; as well as Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem, Piano-Duo in residence at Music Institute of Chicago.

Aliya enjoys community service and has previously performed at fundraising events, retirement homes, and school outreach. She is a Davidson Young Scholar since 2010. Aliya was a 2nd place winner in the Northwestern University Midwest Academic Talent Search on the ACT (a competition with 12,000 students grades 3-9.) She currently attends Whitney Young. Among her other interests are dance, drawing, and composition.

Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ_uKFdhXCBDLWdwdJlc8WA

Jeffrey Chin is 16 years old and attends the Juilliard School as a Pre-College student of Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone. Prior to Juilliard, he studied piano with Larry Graham and Jasmine Steadman in Denver, Colorado.

“Music is an invitation to unravel a universal mystery. Countless scores of drama and dance have enchanted and united composers, performers and audiences alike. Sixteen years ago, I responded to an invitation from classical music as a newborn infant who calmed down while listening to Baby Mozart playing on a toy mobile. Today I am responding to an invitation from the Lang Lang International Music Foundation to serve as a Young Scholar in its global music education program. What an honor and privilege this invitation represents for me! I look forward to being nurtured and inspired by the incredible Lang Lang himself (!!!) and to forming new friendships with the other talented Young Scholars in my class. It is no mystery to me that the Lang Lang International Music Foundation will stimulate my own growth as a budding performing artist. Thank you for this amazing opportunity to spark a universal passion for classical music.”

Jeffrey Chin is 16 years old and attends the Juilliard School as a Pre-College student of Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone. Prior to Juilliard, he studied piano with Larry Graham and Jasmine Steadman in Denver, Colorado. At age 11, he won the Denver Steinway Piano Concerto Competition (Middle School Division) and was invited to perform Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. His other piano concerto performances include the National Repertory Orchestra, Breckenridge Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Chamber Orchestra and Lamont Summer Academy Orchestra. In 2014, he was named Top Performer in Junior Category by the Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado. He was First Place Winner of the 2015 Colorado State MTNA Junior Piano Competition and First Place Winner of the 2016 West Central Division MTNA. In 2016, he was a Junior Category Finalist and Third Prize Winner in the Midwest International Piano Competition. For the past three summers, he has attended the Aspen Music Festival and School where he was selected for masterclasses with Arie Vardi, Stephen Hough and Inon Barnatan. Most recently, he was named a Fellow of the Artemisia Akademie at Yale University and had a masterclass with Boris Berman. He was selected by the Lang Lang International Music Foundation to be a Young Scholar in the class of 2018-2020. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout middle school and high school. In his spare time, Jeffrey enjoys math, computer coding, and learning French and Mandarin Chinese.

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