Melinda, Eleanor, and Joy are from Howard County, Maryland. They have been collaborating together through Olga and David Kuperstein Piano Studio, and are students of Mr. Kuperstein.
Melinda Liu is a freshman at Centennial High School. She has been playing piano since she was 5 years old, participating in many competitions and regional fesitivals. She has performed at prestigious venues for many years, including Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and Bargemusic. She was a Grand Prize winner in the Concerto and Duet categories at the BMTG Intercontinental Piano Competition, and has received multiple First Prizes for both Solo and Duet competitions in the Maryland State Piano Competition. In addition to playing piano, she has been a dancer since age six and has won many regional and national championships with her dance studio. She is also a rhythmic gymnast, winning top awards for her gym.
Eleanor is 12 years old and in 7th grade. She started learning piano with Mr.David Kuperstein at 6 years old. Eleanor enjoys playing piano and performing on the stage. She won First Prize in the Duet category with Melinda Liu, for the Charleston
Contemporary Music Competition in
2023. In the past few years, Eleanor
has received several Grand and First
Prizes from Brooklyn Music Teacher’s
Guild Intercontinental Piano Competition(BMTG). She proudly earned the opportunities to perform at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and Bargemusic in New York. In 2023, she was the Grand Prize winner for both the Solo and Duet categories in the BMTG competition. Her most recent competition was for Maryland State Piano Solo Festival in 2024, in which she was the First Place winner. In addition, Eleanor has natural talent and a passion for volleyball. She is also a member of her school’s Concert Chorus.
Joy Newberger was born into a family of musicians. Both of her parents are orchestra directors with grandparents in Beijing Opera. Joy is 14 years old and has been playing the piano since the age of 4. She is a 9th grader attending Marriotts Ridge High School, Maryland and studying piano under the guidance of Mr. David Kuperstein. Joy has earned First Place at the Maryland State Piano Solo Festival in both 2023 and 2024. She was also a First Place winner in the Maryland State Piano Ensemble Festival in 2024. In 2023, Joy was the Grand Prize Winner of the Brooklyn Music Teacher’s Guild International Solo Piano Competition and Trio Competition earning her performances in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. In 2024, she was a 1st Prize Winner in the Gold International Classical Music Competition. In addition to piano performance, Joy is also an active violinist. She started playing the violin at age 5. Not only a part of the school Chamber Orchestra, where she was the concertmaster, she also proudly performed as a member of the Gifted and Talented Orchestra program. In 2024, she successfully auditioned into the Maryland Junior All State Orchestra 1st Violin section. She also earned 1st Prize in the Vivaldi Internation Competition as a violinist. Joy is not only a talented musician, but also a very dedicated and hard-working student academically. She excels in school and has received awards and certificates for her dedication to academics. Joy has been on the principal’s honor roll consecutively from elementary through middle school earning straight ‘A’s through her entire middle school journey.
You can find the trio’s 2024 Contemporary Music Competition performance here.