Mehana Ellis
I’m a 17-year-old studying piano with Annamarie McCarthy at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I found my passion for piano when I was 2 years old. I enjoyed teaching myself how to play Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” on the piano after hearing a recording. I started formal lessons at age 4, but my primary instrument was violin for a decade. In 8th grade, I switched to piano as my primary instrument and found I was better able to musically express myself.
I have been a student for nearly seven years in the Pre-College Division at SFCM, where I’ve tutored in musicianship and participated in chamber groups as a violinist. I enjoy learning music theory and analyzing classical music, and I have written a piano trio and string quartet. Some of my favorite SFCM classes have been conducting, chorus, and sound design/film scoring. In my free time, I enjoy practicing piano, hiking, cooking, and playing squash. I am very passionate about math, and I enjoy researching, writing research papers, and solving interesting problems in pure mathematics.
I will attend the Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Piano Program (Boston University) in Summer 2022. As a winner of the 2022 Junior Bach Festival, I received an invitation to perform in the live concert in Berkeley. I have also been invited twice by American Protégé to perform at the Weill stage in Carnegie Hall (including in 2023), and I was recently invited to perform as a winner of the Crescendo Competition 2021. In October 2021, I was named a Sorel Fellow in the Claudette Sorel Piano Competition & Fellows Program.
I performed my first solo recital as my senior recital in January 2022, which took place at the Sol Joseph Recital Hall at SFCM and featured works by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt. My interpretation of a Liszt Transcendental Etude was described as “imaginative, provoking, engaging, and brilliant” by the SFCM piano jury in 2021. I always strive to work harder for a better performance and to develop more musicality in my repertoire. Most recently, attending the Claudette Sorel Piano Competition Fellow’s Program masterclass, workshop, private lesson, other activities, and watching the finalists’ performance was a very inspiring experience.
I have won numerous other awards for my piano performances.
First Prize, Classical Music Artists Awards, 2022
First Prize, Charleston International Piano Competition, 2022
Gold Prize, Global Genius Music Competition (Concerto), Winter Season 2021-22
Excellent Musicality Special Prize, Global Genius Music Competition, Winter Season 2021-22
Gold Prize, London Young Musician International Music Competition, Concerto Performance, 2022
Gold Prize, London Young Musician International Music Competition, Baroque Performance, 2022
Gold Prize, London Young Musician International Music Competition, Romantic Performance, 2022
Versatile Musician Award, London Young Musician International Music Competition, 2022
Characteristic Performance Award, London Young Musician International Music Competition, 2022
Winner, Junior Bach Festival, 2022
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, Best Chopin Performance, 2022
First Prize, King’s Peak International Music Competition, Winter 2021/22
Second Prize, American Music Talent Competition, 2022
“Highly Commended” Honorable Mention, Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition Online, 2022
Sorel Fellow, Claudette Sorel Piano Competition & Fellows Program (SUNY-Fredonia), 2021
First Prize, Charleston International Music Competition (Romantic Music Competition), 2021
First Prize, Franz Schubert Conservatory (Vienna), International Music Competition, 2021
First Prize, King’s Peak International Music Competition, Fall 2021
Gold Prize, Global Genius Music Competition, Romantic category, 2021
Gold Prize, Global Genius Music Competition, ages 15-17 category, 2021
Excellent Musicality Special Prize, Global Genius Music Competition, 2021
First Prize, San Francisco International Innovative Music Competition (Advanced Piano, Romantic Era), 2021
First Prize, IMKA International Internet Music and Dance Competition (Sarajevo), 2021
First Prize, US New Star Composer Competition (Bach), 2021
First Prize, US New Star Composer Competition (free choice), 2021
Top Performance Runner Up, US New Star Composer Competition, 2021
Winner, Junior Bach Festival, 2021
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, Rising Talents of the Americas, 2021
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, Best Bach Performance, 2021
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, Best Debussy Performance, 2021
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, The Art of the Piano, 2021
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, Music of the 17th Century, 2021
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, Music of the 19th Century, 2021
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, Music of Germany and Austria, 2021
First Prize, Great Composers Competition, Music of Eastern Europe, 2021
Silver Prize, American Classical Young Musician Award, 2021
Second Prize, International Music Competition Małopolska 2021
Second Prize, Marker and Pioneer International Music Competition, 2021
Second Prize, Vienna Academia Musica International Music Competition, 2021
Second Prize, American Protégé Competition of Romantic Music, 2021
Second Prize, International New Star Piano Competition, 2021
Second Prize, Bay Area Piano Competition, 2021
Second Prize, Gustav Mahler Prize Piano Competition (Mahler Institute in Prague), 2021
Second Prize, Fundacja Life and Art International Music Competition, 2021
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Artist of the Year, 2021
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Masters of Piano Concerto, 2021
Second Prize, US New Star Composer Competition (Chopin), 2021
Honorable Mention, United States International Music Competition, 2021
Semifinalist, Ross McKee Piano Competition, 2021
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Music of the 18th Century, 2021
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Music of the 20th Century, 2021
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Music of America, 2021
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Best Schubert Performance, 2021
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Best Chopin Performance, 2021
Bronze Prize, International Classical Music Cup, 2021
Third Prize, Clara Schumann International Competition, 2021
Third Prize, ENKOR International Music Competition, 2021
Third Prize, American Protege International Music Talent Competition, 2021
Honorable Mention, Houston International Music Competition, 2021
Honorable Mention, Piano Competition Online (Poland), 2021
Fifth Prize, World Piano E-Competition “Napolinova,” 2021
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Artist of the Year, 2020
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Art of Piano, 2020
Second Prize, Great Composers Competition, Rising Talents of the Americas, 2020
Third Prize, Great Composers Competition, Best Liszt Performance, 2020
Compositions
Piano: Prelude in G major
Second Prize (world premiere, publication on CD), World Championship in Composition, Young Composer International Prize, Franz Schubert Conservatory (Vienna), 2022
String Quartet: Snoopy Museum (Santa Rosa Fire)
Third Prize, Young Composer International Prize, Franz Schubert Conservatory (Vienna), 2021
You can find Mehana’s 2021 Romantic Music Competition Piano performance here.
You can find Mehana’s 2021 International Piano Competition performance here.
You can find Mehana’s 2022 Baroque Music Competition piano performance here.