Award-Winning EHT Pianist to Perform in Cape May

CAPE MAY — Hans-Derek Yu of Egg Harbor Township will perform a solo piano recital at the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Cape May, on Thurs., March 2, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
Yu, 14 and a freshman at Egg Harbor Township High School, will be performing in preparation for two prestigious upcoming music competitions. March 5-11 he will be one of 20 pianists selected worldwide to compete at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition in Hilton Head, S.C. On March 18, he will represent the Eastern division in the finals of the Music Teachers National Association Junior Piano Performance Competition in Baltimore, MD.
Yu has been studying piano since age 5 and has studied with Professor Veda Zuponcic of Rowan University since age 7.
Hans-Derek has won numerous competitions, including the Old York Road Symphony Young Artists Competition where he will perform with the Old York Road Symphony in concert in April, 2017. He also won first place in the West Chester University Annual Pre-Collegiate Competition Children Category in 2012 and Junior Category in 2016; first place in the Greater Princeton Steinway Society Piano Competition in 2012 and 2015; first place in the New Jersey Music Teachers Association Young Musicians Competition in 2016, and the Concerto Competition at Northern Lights Music Festival in Minnesota in 2012, 2014, and 2016, where he performed in concert with the Northern Lights Music Festival Orchestra.
At 11, the youngest contestant in his age category, Hans-Derek won the Eastern Division of MTNA and advanced to the National Finals. He was also a finalist in the Philadelphia Orchestra Albert M. Greenfield Student Concerto Competition in 2014, and again in 2015. In 2014, Hans-Derek won first place in the Osaka (Japan) International Music Competition solo category, performed in the Grand Gala, and received the Osaka Mayor Award.
Yu’s program on March 2 will include Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata, Op. 57; Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in g minor; Ligeti’s “Devil’s Staircase” Etude; and the Tarantella from Liszt’s “Venezi e Napoli.”
The Episcopal Church of the Advent is located at 612 Franklin St, Cape May, NJ. Phone: (609) 884-3065. The concert is free and open to the public. Goodwill donations will be accepted.