Music — The accomplished young pianist wins regional round of the Music Teachers National Association Junior Performance

BOISE, Idaho — Having represented Oregon three times already but not advanced to nationals in the Music Teachers National Association Junior Performance competition, Newberg’s Nathan Kim felt as if he had a fair-sized monkey on his back.

The fourth time was the charm, as it turns out, after the pianist beat out competitors from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming to win the Northwest Division competition Jan. 11 and advance to the national finals March 21-25 in Las Vegas.

It was also a nice early birthday present for the Newberg High School freshman, who turned 15 three days after the competition at Boise State University.

“This is a tremendous honor and relief to have won the division competition,” Kim said. “The level of competition is quite high at the division level given the other competitors are winners from their respective state. This accomplishment ranks right up there as one of the top events I’ve done so far.”

Kim quickly turned around and won a second competition, placing first at the Coeur d’Alene National Young Artists Competition Sunday at Whitworth University in Spokane.

In addition to a $750 cash prize, Kim will perform with the Coeur d’Alene Symphony March 13-14.

“It will be a great opportunity to play with the symphony,” Kim’s teacher, Renato Fabbro, said. “It will be a great thing to put on his resume.”

In his final year of eligibility for the junior competition, Kim performed four pieces: Mozart’s Sonata in D Major, Allegro con spirit Moszkowski’s Caprice espagnole in A Minor, Op. 37, Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp Major, WTC I, BWV 859 and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 in A Minor Franz.

“The Moszkowski and the Liszt really showed off his technical brilliance and his power and range of sound,” Fabbro said. “I think that really came through to the audience. The Liszt is the piece he ended with and it ends with a really big climax and it’s very exciting. The Bach and the Mozart are to show more lyricism, delicacy and control. He’s really made strides in that area, so they really highlighted a different style for him to play. The other two pieces were virtuosic and extroverted.”

Kim said this year’s division competition felt different for some reason, adding that he really enjoyed the pieces he played this year and felt he and Fabbro collaborated well to choose a thorough 20-minute program.

Fabbro said he is especially proud of how well Kim has matured, noting that he has become more of a seasoned performer as his command and comfort level in such high-level competitions has improved.

That, however, doesn’t mean that Kim doesn’t still get a few butterflies now and then.

“I definitely had a lot of nerves going through my practices in Boise, but it all but went away when I actually competed Sunday morning,” Kim said. “Then it came back since I was the first competitor and had to wait out the other five performances, plus the judges’ deliberation, in order to find out the result. As much as I felt I put it all out there, the waiting was one of the most excruciating moments I had to deal with.”

Accompanied by Fabbro, Kim performed Prokofieff’s Piano Concerto No.1 in D-flat Major Op.10 at the symphony competition, which was a bit of a new experience for him considering he wasn’t just competing against fellow pianists, but performers with a variety of instruments.

Echoing his teacher’s praise, Kim’s approach to competition seems to be maturing and his preparation for the MTNA national finals will be no different.

“(I want) to do my best and not regret what happens with my performance,” Kim said. “I’m hoping that I’ll enjoy my experience at Las Vegas, but ideally I hope to be the first winner from Oregon (at least from this decade) and share my success back home with my family and friends.”\

Written by: Seth Gordon