Elbert Gong, the winner of the 2013 Julia Crane International Piano Competition, will perform at the 10th Annual Cabin in the Woods Concert, on Sunday, September 7 at 2 p.m.
Gong’s concert, presented by VIEW, the arts center in Old Forge, will be performed ona 1908 Steinway Concert B grand piano and will include selections by Bach, Frank, Debussy, and Liszt.
Gong began playing piano at the age of four. Currently a student at The Lawrenceville School of Lawrenceville, NJ, the 17 year old has performed with chamber trios in the Juilliard Pre-College Program since 2008.
He said during the summer he practices three to six hours a day, but during the school year he averages two hours of rehearsal a day.
“I try to get all of my school work done in whatever spare time I have so I can get more time to play piano,” he said, adding that it’s his love of music that keeps him inspired.
“Music has a healing power, a changing power to create your own world. It’s something I’ve tried to share at Lawrenceville, that just by working on music you can create your own, separate world.”
Aside from taking first place at the Crane Competition in September 2013, he also won the Audience Prize and the Peer Jury Prize.
Prior awards include first place in the 2013 AFAF International Concerto competition, the Kaufman Music Center International Youth Competition Jury Award for Best Performance of a Baroque Piece (Senior Division) in 2013, the Don Bosco Young Artist competition in 2012, and the Pre-College Bachauer competition in 2010.
His work has also been featured on NPR’s, “From the Top.”
Due to limited seating at the intimate venue, reservations are required. Tickets are $100/$50 for members and can be purchased by calling VIEW at (315) 369-6411.
Light refreshments will be served following the performance.
The Cabin in the Woods is located on Route 28, Thendara, next to Runway convenience store.