John Patrick Hutchinson, Jr. is fifteen years old and is from Rockingham, North Carolina. He is homeschooled at Sealight Education Academy, and is a sophomore in high school. His favorite activities are playing the piano and playing soccer. He began taking piano lessons in 2014. One of his favorite types of music to play, from the very beginning, was ragtime era music. Even now, he almost always chooses music from the jazz and ragtime genres to play at piano festivals for his “contrasting style” piece. He is the 2023-2024 Junior Division Champion of the World Championship Old Time Piano Playing Contest-which focuses on ragtime and jazz era music.
As a classical pianist, John Patrick performs classical piano repertoire at both International and National piano festivals. In 2019, he performed solo pieces as well as a concerto with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra in St. Petersburg Russia as part of Russia’s Piano in Palace Music Festival. In 2020, he attended and played in the Costa Rico Piano Festival, held online due to COVID restrictions on international travel. In 2021 and 2022, he performed solo repertoire for the Palmetto International Piano Festival.
For the past two summers, John Patrick has auditioned into and attended the Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard program through the Juilliard School. He’s also completed a summer semester at the Interlochen Performing Arts Program as both a piano and organ major. Most recently, in December 2023, he won 1st prize in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Piano Competition and played in honor of Beethoven’s birthday in Bonn Germany. He also received First Place in the Elite International Music Competition and will be playing in the Weil Recital venue in Carnegie Hall in June 2024.
In addition to solo work, John Patrick enjoys collaborating with other artists. He accompanies competition choirs in a five county area for state and regional competitions as well as annual showcase concerts celebrating the arts in the public education system. He is currently the full time organist/pianist for First Methodist Church in Bennettsville, South Carolina and has played for two years as the pianist with the Moore County Philharmonic Orchestra in North Carolina.
You can find John’s 2024 Baroque Music Competition piano performance here.