Elsie Lu -- Young Artist
1st Prize, 16, canada
Elsie Lu is a grade 11 Magee Secondary School SPARTS program student from Vancouver Canada. She began studying piano with Mrs. Rada Bukhman and immediately fell in love with classical music. As a current pupil of Dr. Sasha Starcevich, Elsie has been led to a broader perspective and is eager to pursue music as her career. After winning the American Protégé Competition, Elsie attained the opportunity to perform in Carnegie hall at the age of nine. She has won 1st place at the 2021 63th Canimex Canadian Music Competition, 14th Luigi Cellitelli International Competition, and VII Paderewski Piano Competition, and Platinum prize at the 2022 Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition. In addition, she was the Gold Medalist at the US Northwest Chopin Festival, Seattle Pacific NW Piano Competition, Steinway Canada Young Artist Competition, and winner of the 50th SYAMFA concerto competition, 6th North West International Piano Ensemble Competition, 2019 Steinway Junior Piano Competition, 2021 Chicago International Music Competition, and 2022 Young Euregio International Piano Competition.
Most recently, Elsie received the Fazioli Trophy and Scholarship at the CDMF festival, and as a representative of this festival, she won 1st prize of Provincial Excellence Class for the 2022 BC Performing Arts Festival. Elsie was awarded the Jury Discretionary Award for the 2022 Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition. Furthermore, Elsie was chosen as a one of the six Festival Students to perform in the master classes and concert at the 2022 Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah. Elsie has appeared with various orchestras including the Bruensis Virtuosi, Orchestra of MusicFest Perugia, Bellevue Symphony and Philharmonia Northwest. Music festivals, such as the Vivace festival, Southeastern Piano Festival, and Gina Bachauer Festival have given her many opportunities to connect with peers and engage in masterclasses with renowned professors such as Robert McDonald, Alexander Braginsky, Boris Slutsky, Ursula Oppens, Arthur Greene, Ilana Vered, Alexander Kobrin and many other pianists.