Young Pianist of the Year at Blackburn Music Festival

Congratulations to Concord 6.2 student Kee Kiam, who returned from the Blackburn Music Festival with a 3rd Prize, a Second Prize and also the grand prize of Young Pianist of the Year.

The Blackburn Music Festival is one part of the Blackburn Festival of Speech, Music and Dance, founded in 1945, with the first festival being held in 1946.

In class 216, for ‘Piano Solo Recital’, Kee Kiam played Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in D, Op. 23 No. 4, and Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in A-minor and was awarded third place.

For class 215 which was for 20th and 21st century music, he played Messiaen’s Vingt Regards pour L’Enfant Jesus, XVI Regards des prophetes, des bergers, et des Mages, and won second place.

Finally and excitingly, the piano judges nominated him Blackburn Festival Young Pianist of the Year, an impressive achievement.

Mrs Hannah Latter-Perrins, Head of Music at Concord, was delighted for him: “Kee Kiam is a music student of outstanding quality and his recent success in the Blackburn Festival of Music and Drama is a tremendous achievement.

“The complexity of the repertoire he performed, including Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Messiaen was challenging indeed and to perform it under pressure is no easy feat; it is clear the judges appreciated such a commanding display of both technique and interpretation.”

Kee Kiam is an accomplished musician and a valued team leader amongst Concords music students. Mrs Latter-Perrins described his involvement in the musical life of Concord: “At Concord Kee Kiam manages his time so carefully that he is able to be fully involved in every aspect of the Music department, whilst also continuing his studies in the Junior Department at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester at the weekends.

“He is the Leader of our orchestra and string group and performs in our Johann string quartet. He is also a College Music Ambassador, an excellent team responsible for supporting peers and younger students in their musical activities. All roles which he executes with humility and kindness”

Although he is preparing for A Levels this summer, Kee Kiam has found time to continue to push forward with his music. He is finishing his own composition for strings, ‘Concertino in D minor’ which will be debuted at our forthcoming Spring Concert and conducted by Kee Kiam himself.

Mrs Latter-Perrins added: “He also prepares for another Music competition in a few weeks and gets ready to sit his LTCL exam in May – all of which he does whilst maintaining focus on his A levels exams in the summer term and preparing for university to study Engineering.”