Alexander DeStefano of Dorothy, N.J., winner of the Bart Pitman Memorial Keyboard $6,000 Scholarship, will be a featured performer at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1680 Aquetong Road, New Hope, as the Delaware Valley Music Club holds its annual Young Performers Concert to honor outstanding young musicians.
The scholarship, which is administered by the Music Club, was established 37 years ago by the parents of Bart Pitman, a gifted young pianist and organist who died at the pinnacle of his musical career at the age of 29. Each year, the scholarship winner is selected by a jury of professional classical pianists and organists, and is invited to perform at the club’s March concert.
Now a first-year piano major at the Curtis Institute, De Stefano was an honor student, receiving numerous academic and musical awards during his years at Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, N.J., and was the winner of competitions in both performance and composition, including Grand Prize Winner of the 2021-2022 New Jersey Young Composers Competition.
Also included in the concert program are prizewinners of the 2022 Bucks County Symphony Youth Concerto Competition. The first place award went to 15-year old Audrey Kim of Chesterbrook, who has been playing the violin since the age of 4, and now is a member of Temple Music Prep’s Center for gifted young musicians.
A winner of several violin competitions, she was first prize winner of the 2022 Tri-County Youth Festival’s Junior Strings division, and as winner of the “Little Mozarts” competition was invited in 2017 to play at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.
Second Prizewinner 14-year-old Suri Ahn of Paoli began her violin studies at age 6, and has served as assistant concertmaster of the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra. She won the 2021 Warminster Symphony’s Young Artist competition and first prize in the 2023 Crescendo International Competition.
Honorable Mention awards went to 11-year-old Pierra Huang of Horsham and 10-year-old Ethan Kim of Dresher. Pierra, in addition to playing the violin in her school orchestra plays the flute for her school band.
Ethan, a violin student since age 5, serves as concertmaster at Temple University’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians. He won first place in the Junior category of the Young Korean Musicians competition in 2022.
A tea reception with refreshments will follow the concert. The Young Performers Concert March 16 is free for Delaware Valley Music Club members; their guests, as well as the general public, may attend for a $15 fee.
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