Michael’s outstanding piano competition success

Michael (Lower Eighth) won the Coach House Piano Competition Finals at Bromsgrove School on Sunday 5 March.

Michael faced fierce competition from Eton and Shrewsbury in particular. In addition to a cash prize, he has also won for the school a new Yamaha B1 model upright piano. This is the second iteration of this competition for schools and the second time St Paul’s has won. The last competition was won by Noah Zhou OP (2014-19) back in 2019.

Michael’s programme included works by Bach, Chopin and Scriabin. In the morning, he also had a private masterclass in the morning on his Chopin Ballade with distinguished piano professor John Thwaites of the Birmingham Conservatoire.

On 1 March, Michael also came second in the final of the International Young Pianists Chopin Competition. Michael was delighted, especially given the other four finalists were 19 years old; two were undergraduate students at the Royal College of Music and one had flown in from Canada.