Sage Hill student ranks among top four classical pianists in 2023 YoungArts competition
Aja Zou means it when she says practice makes perfect.
Zou, 16, was recently named one of four finalists recognized nationally in classical music by YoungArts, a nonprofit that focuses on highlighting emerging high school artists. Winners are spread across 10 different artistic disciplines and are determined by a panel of specialists in those fields and are given the opportunity to attend “National YoungArts Week” in Miami in January.
“Every year we are inspired anew by the talent, dedication and creativity of extraordinary early career artists,” YoungArts Artistic Director Lauren Snelling said in a statement. “YoungArts is proud to support artists at critical junctures throughout their lives, and we look forward to providing community and professional and creative development opportunities that will empower the 2023 award winners as they embark on exciting careers in the arts.
“Now more than ever, it is essential to support artists so that their voices can be heard long into the future.”
Zou said she’s been playing the piano since she was 6 and practices for an hour every day, meeting goals she sets for herself after she finishes class at Sage Hill. Her favorite genres are classical and romantic with her favorite composers being Beethoven and Liszt. She said her interest in music came from her mother.
“When I was very young, my mom used to have these CDs with classical piano music in the car. She would play it every day when she was driving me to school or picking me up. She kept on playing it and I was able to hum the entire 40 minutes of [Beethoven’s] Sonata No. 29, Op. 106,” Zou said. “My mom was like, ‘You really have musicianship.’ So, she signed me up for classes to see if I would enjoy it and, of course, I fell in love with the piano and continued playing.”
Zou said she heard about the YoungArts competition from her peers in school last year. She’d participated in other competitions before and thought that if she won it would greatly expand her opportunities to pursue a future career in music.
“I applied thinking I would get maybe merit or honor roll mention, but this is a really great opportunity,” said Zou.
She submitted a video audition in the summer and got the call about the decision last month while she was in her Spanish class.
“I was playing Kahoot,” Zou said, laughing. “So, I was on my phone. Suddenly, I got a call from Miami and it said ‘YoungArts’ and I thought the decisions came out in December. I thought they had a question about my application ... I asked [my teacher], ‘Can I pick up this important call? It could be life-changing.’ I picked it up and they went, ‘Congratulations.’
“The feelings just rushed into my body. It was the happiest I’ve ever felt and during that moment, I was thinking, ‘Oh my god. I’m going to YoungArts Week’ and ... I was kind of questioning it. This is one of those times where my music has been appreciated so much. There were 7,000 applicants and I didn’t even think the judges would watch the whole video and come to that decision that I was a finalist.”
Zou said she plans on pursuing music alongside a science or math major in college and encourages other young musicians and artists to persevere and chase after their art.
She noted she had to stop playing piano for two years after breaking her elbow playing lacrosse, but that she eventually practiced her way back up to her standard level.
“You’ll never expect the different perspectives [of the] people [who] view your art. Your art could be loved by professionals, but sometimes could be criticized. Art is never perfect, but make your best and good things will always follow through,” said Zou.
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