Kené Obiaya
CHICAGO, IL | AGE 16
REPERTOIRE
ROUND 1:
ZENOBIA POWELL PERRY: Homage
J. S. BACH: Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 850
WILLIAM GRANT STILL: Three Visions (II. Summerland)
SEMI-FINALS:
BEETHOVEN: Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 31 No. 3 (I. Allegro, II. Scherzo. Allegro vivace, III. Minuet. Moderato e grazioso)
FINALS:
MENDELSSOHN: Variations sérieuses, Op. 54
CONCERTO:
MOZART: Concerto in A major, K. 488
BIOGRAPHY:
Kené is a six-time Gold Medalist at the CAMTA Sonata Festival and a top prize winner at the Roberta Savler contest where he last placed 2nd. He has received accolades in other piano competitions that include the Illinois Federation of Music Clubs (IFMC) state concerto and piano solo; Society of American Musicians; and Music Festival in Honor of Confucius. Kené has been invited to perform at the Chicago and American Suzuki Institute’s Honors recitals each of the last seven years, as well as to the Illinois Federation of Music Club Piano Honors recital each of the five years he contested. He has also performed on WBEZ’s The Morning Shift with Tony Sarabia and has been featured on the ABC7 news.
Kené is 16 years old and began taking piano lessons at age 3. Kene currently attends Interlochen Arts Academy where he studies piano with Dr.Kara Huber and previously studied with Laura Fenster and Bethany Stefanut. Over the past few summers, Kené has attended the Interlochen Arts Camp and Curtis’s Young Artists Summer Program (YASP). He has participated in masterclasses with Michael Coonrod, Amy Yang, Lara Driscoll, and the Euclid Quartet. Kené is also passionate about the viola.
