A Banner Year

sdpa students swept all three top prizes in the 15-18 category at the Southern California State Concerto Competition. Read how Luna Lee's win sets up a full-circle final against a student of her teacher's own mentor.

Five sdpa students placed at the 2025 San Diego Chopin Contest, spanning three studios and four divisions, led by Yoyo Wu's first-place finish in the Etude Division. See the full list of honorees and their winning pieces.

Four sdpa students placed at the February 2025 San Diego Concerto Competition, one of the toughest local contests for pianists. See who placed, what they performed, and the concertos that took them there.

Luna Lee took first place in Level 10 at the 2024 San Diego Sonata Contest, performing the third movement of Beethoven's Sonata Op. 10, No. 1. Watch her winning performance now.

Arianna Gago won the Grand Prize at the IAMPT International Competition, performing Mendelssohn's Song Without Words, her first major competition win. The prize comes with a performance at Carnegie Hall this November. Watch the winning performance now.

Four sdpa students had a strong spring in 2024: Khai West and Luna Lee placed at the San Diego Chopin Contest, Luna also won the Encinitas Youth Competition (with a Beethoven concerto performance to come), Arianna Gago earned an ABRSM Distinction, and Lochlan debuted his first original composition to a first-place win. See what's next for each of them.

Luna Lee, Khai West, and Yoyo Wu placed at the 2024 San Diego Concerto Competition, one of the toughest local contests for pianists, all while on the younger side of their divisions. See what they performed and what it signals for what's next.