Over the winter break, Kiera Wong, McAuliffe student, and her partner, Sterling Tran, traveled to Colorado Springs, Colorado to compete in the 21st United States International Duo Piano Competition (USIDPC). The event took place at the legendary 5-Star and 5-Diamond Broadmoor Hotel.
The USIDPC is the largest duo piano competition in the world! This year’s event took place on January 4th – 6th, 2020. Approximately 200 finalists from across the world ranging in age from 7 to adult played next to each other on side-by-side pianos. The competing teams came from all over including China, Italy, India, Korea and Russia. The teams performed classical music by Bach, Chopin, Rachmanioff, Ravel, Stravinsky and others.
After months of preparation, Kiera Wong and Sterling Tran took home 1st Place in their duo category. They played “Libertango” by Astor Piazzolla to a packed audience. Both Kiera and Sterling were honored and delighted to have been chosen as the winners from a pool of exceptional and gifted talents in the genre of duo piano.
McAuliffe’s own, Kiera Wong, went on to compete in the quartet category with William Li, Ashley Nguyen and Michelle Ho. The quartet team dazzled the judges and audience with “Over the Rainbow” by Harold Arlen earning them 2nd Place. When asked how they felt after their winning performance, the musicians were humbled and shocked to have placed among so many talented teams. They also expressed how deeply lucky they were to have shared the stage with remarkable and accomplished pianists from all over the world!
