I have been reading sheet music since before I could read English. At the age of three years old, my small hands could barely play a perfect fifth, never mind the daunting octave.
As I grew and developed as a pianist, I explored my passion for music in a number of ways, starting with the Baroque and Classical time periods, regularly performing Bach and Mozart at school recitals, churches, and retirement homes. Later on, to learn classic rock and roll, I organized a band that regularly performed Elton John’s most iconic works, as well as some of our own compositions, at house parties and coffee shops. To further broaden my horizons, I joined my school’s jazz ensemble, drawing inspiration in improvisation from legendary jazz pianists like Herbie Hancock and Dave Brubeck.
However, after experimenting with every genre imaginable, I eventually fell in love with the expressiveness of the Romantic era, particularly captivated by the works of Chopin, Schubert, and Brahms. In January 2020, I decided to set my sights on competitive piano, a goal that was unfortunately thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, I tutored elementary and middle school students online and helped them learn the fundamentals of classical piano. Finally, in November of 2021, I took part in my first competition and was recognized with the third-place award in the San Francisco International Innovative Music Competition. In 2022, I was recognized with the first-place award in the US International Open Music Competition as well as first prize in the Romantic category for the Golden Classical Music Awards, where I was invited to perform my solo piece live at Carnegie Hall.
You can find Maxwell’s 2023 International Piano Competition performance here.