Dec. 8, 2020

Sophomore pianist earns Award of Excellence

Upper St. Clair High School sophomore Jason Lu was awarded the Award of Excellence in the Young Artists Program, sponsored by the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania (SSWPA). The event was held virtually on Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6.

Jason, who performed two classic selections, was selected from among 54 pianists. The award, which provides a $200 scholarship, is in memory of Melanie Schmidt, mother of SSWPA board president, Marina Lupinaccci.

“Despite it being over Zoom where we encountered a couple of minor technical glitches, it was a huge success!” Ms. Lupinacci said. “All the Young Artists did a fantastic job and the amount of talent we have in our Society is unbelievable.”

Jason received piano instruction throughout the last four years from Natasha Snitkovsky, chair of the piano department at Duquesne University. Most recently, he began working with Luz Manriquez, teaching professor of collaborative piano and piano pedagogy at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, he actively participates in Upper St. Clair’s performing arts programs including the high school’s Jazz Lab Ensemble and Marching Band.

The Young Artists Program is open to pianists up to age 18 or through their senior year in high school. Learn more about SSWPA and its Young Artists Program at www.sswpa.org.