PBS Wisconsin Music & Arts

On February 26th, four gifted young musicians will take the stage here at Overture Hall in Madison. They're vying for top honors in the Madison Symphony Orchestra's Bolz Young Artist Competition. They are violinist Emily Hauer, pianist Jessica Jiang, violinist Jonah Kartman, and pianist Michael Wu. You'll see them perform as part of our live broadcast, Wisconsin Young Artists Compete The Final Forte. But before they step into the spotlight, we've asked them to tell us a little bit about themselves......their passion for music, and the journey that brought them here, to this stage. I am Jessica Jiang, a junior at Madison Memorial High School. I started piano when I was four years old. I think that the piano has such a beautiful sound to it. You can create such wonderful tones, melodies. Sophia is my younger sister. It's great because we have that sibling connection where we both play piano, and we don't fight a lot, so...

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And she's just a wonderful pianist. I study with Mr. Bill Lutes. He is an amazing, humorous teacher. He always knows how to help me improve my phrasing, expression, just overall, my musicality. It's really helped me develop as a musician. Okay, mm-hmm. I play the violin alongside piano, and this is my third year in the youth orchestra-- my first year as a first violinist. And it's quite an enriching experience because all the kids around me are really great musicians, too. I am also co-editor in chief of the Sword & Shield, which is our school newspaper. Every Monday, we'll have meetings. They're about improving an aspect of writing. It's amazing to see that your voice is really heard, and you can make a difference in your community. I think that having all these activities, it really pushes you to expand your knowledge of the world, to find your passion. It's a busy kind of life, but it's nice knowing that you have so many things that you can enjoy. There are no words to describe the feeling I had two years ago when I went and performed with MSO for the first time. I was only 13, and it was just such a surreal experience for me. I'm playing the first movement of Prokofiev's "Third Piano Concerto in C Major." There's so many different emotions that I feel when I play this piece. I'm really thrilled to play with the MSO because it really just feels like you're opening up to the heavens when you have an orchestra working with you. Over the past two years, I've grown as a musician but also as a person. I definitely want to bring more musical maturity into this performance and just show my growth.

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