Manuel Vizurraga is currently an Artist Certificate student at The University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he is studying piano with Sean Chen. He has received two Master’s degrees in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at The Florida State University. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at The University of West Georgia. Previous teachers include Read Gainsford, Ian Hobson, Diana Dumlavwalla, George Mann, and Carol Gingerich.
While at UMKC, Manuel has placed 3rd in the International 21st Century Talents Competition. He has been invited to perform in Ottawa, Canada for an awards ceremony in the near future. Along with performing, he is involved in UMKC Conservatory Academy where he teaches students of various levels and ages.
During his time at FSU, Vizurraga has competed in numerous competitions, including the West Virginia International Piano Competition (2018), where he was a semi-finalist. He won the 2016-2017 Young Artist Concerto Competition held in Florida State and became the featured soloist with the University Philharmonia Orchestra’s Season Finale concert .Another competition was The American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition (2016), where he received the honor to perform in Carnegie Hall as a soloist for the competition’s annual Winners’ Recital. Vizurraga was also selected as a winner of the Tallahassee Music Guild Scholarship for the 2015-2016 year.
He received a BM in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of West Georgia. During his time, he studied performance and pedagogy with Carol Gingerich, and also took additional lessons with George Mann. At West Georgia, Vizurraga was a winner of the annual Wright Scholars and Honors Day competitions. He also won the Concerto Competition at West Georgia and was given the opportunity to perform with the Carroll Symphony Orchestra. Other awards include winning the State Division of the MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition and the undergraduate keyboard division of the Atlanta Music Club Scholarship Competition
He also participated in master classes with world-renowned pianists such as Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Angela Hewitt, Jeremy Denk, and Ian Hobson.
You can find Manuel’s 2021 Romantic Music Competition Piano performance here.