On Saturday, May 3rd Songs Strings and Steps will present 19-year-old Kevin Chen performing Piano Concerto No. 1 by Frederick Chopin along with a symphony orchestra and the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra (AYO).
Kevin is a gifted pianist from Calgary who performed his first concerto with the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra in 2013 at the 
age of 7
. At age 9 Kevin completed his ARCT and since then he has won FIVE International Piano Competitions. Kevin was named one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “
Top 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30
” and one of “
100 Remarkable Canadians” in 
Maclean’s
 magazine
 when he was still less than ten years old.
Concert organizer Calvin Dyck says "the way I discovered Kevin is an interesting story. In 2012 I was adjudicating at the Winnipeg Music Festival and happened to run into the piano adjudicator Colleen Athparia. I asked her if she had any outstanding students, and she enthusiastically described this piano prodigy Kevin Chen who she was having a hard time staying ahead of. For example, she said, “I assign a Bach Prelude and Fugue to Kevin, and then next week he doesn’t just come back with it memorized, but he also has transposed it into a new key because he was bored!”
The next year (2013) we decided to feature Kevin in a Mozart Concerto with the Abbotsford Youth Orchestra. I’ll never forget that during the rehearsal when we stopped for a moment, Kevin, who was playing for memory, said, “excuse me, but the 2nd horn played the wrong notes in bar 137.” He was right! I realized then that this 7-year-old pianist was a musical genius. Kevin had not only memorized his own part but also memorized the entire orchestral score.
Besides Kevin’s incredible mind, and remarkable achievements, I am struck by his amazing musical sense. He plays with a sensitivity and maturity that belies his youth. Bertrand Boissard described Kevin as “an authentic artist with beautiful sensitivity and remarkable mastery”.
The concert will also include some pieces by the AYO and feature Kevin playing “Réminiscences de Don Juan” by Franz Liszt.
Don’t miss this special concert!
Information Source: Calvin Dyck | eventbrite

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