Fourteen-year-old Christopher Shin, mere months into his freshman year Cherry Hill High School East, can already call himself a state champion.
Shin won the New Jersey state piano competition held by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) at Rowan University on Saturday, Nov. 2, besting the field in the 11 to 14 age group.
“I was in junior division for piano solo, and that’s a 20-minute program consisting of more than two pieces of different contrasting genres. So I like to prepare different works by different composers from different time periods, such as Beethoven, Chopin and Ravel, which is what I did,” Shin explained at his Woodcrest home less than a week after his victory.
Preparation for the recital began last spring, Shin revealed, and lasted right up until the day he took the stage. It came in large part due to the tutelage of Veda Zuponcic, a piano professor at Rowan University who also currently resides in Cherry Hill.
“There were a couple pieces (I worked on) from the spring and one from the summer, so … it was just compiling and fitting the pieces together … In the summer, (practice time) was like 3 to 4 hours per day, but now with school and everything, you try to get 1 or 2 hours a day but that’s tough.”
This was Shin’s third crack at the MTNA competition in his age bracket. While he felt nervous at two previous tries, this year, he admitted feeling more confident because he was the oldest in the category and prepared well.
“It’s kind of pressuring because this was my last chance (to win) before I moved on, but I felt more calm in (performing). It wasn’t like anxiety or adrenaline taking over my body,” he said.
Up next for Shin is the Eastern Division competition. According to the MTNA website, he will have to submit a video recording of his performance no later than Dec. 4. Judges will then listen to a portion or all of the video up to a certain time frame, which, in Shin’s case, is a 20-minute limit for juniors.
“I was going to record mine at Rowan. Basically, each state has its own representative that will compete and the judges decide the winner of the Eastern, who then goes onto the nationals in Chicago. I think only six to seven people get to go there, per each category,” he said.
When he’s not excelling in competitions, Shin also uses music as a way to relax and decompress.
“I also play trumpet in jazz band so that’s also the music bond between school and my private life. I guess it’s more ‘cut loose and relax,’ while piano’s more ‘sharper ears and fine tuning,’” he explained.
Even state champs find solace in other subjects during a hectic start to a high-school career.
“I do jazz band as one of my classes and that’s always fun because I get to play more jazzy, more relaxed, more pop-sounding tunes. I also like math because of its logic, but writing helps me express my feelings and other stuff. As of now, I think my music teacher’s really good, Mr. (Tim) Keleher, and my math teacher, Mr. (Jeff) Killion’s really nice,” Shin admitted.
Music Teachers National Association is a nonprofit organization comprised of 20,000 independent and collegiate music teachers that seeks to further the art of music through teaching, performance, composition and research. Founded in 1876, MTNA is the oldest professional music association in the United States.
For more information, visit https://www.mtna.org/MTNA/Engage/Competitions/Competitions.aspx
