LOWELL – William Ge, seventeen-year-old pianist, has been named the winner of the Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2024 Jeanne Selander Concerto Competition.

Mr. Ge will perform as the featured soloist with The Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra at the orchestra’s Family Concert on March 16, 2024, 2pm at Fusion Church, 125 Mt. Hope Street, Lowell, MA. Mr. Ge performed Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11, 1st movement.   He is a junior at Philips Andover.

After winning the Albert M. Greenfield Concerto Competition at age eleven, William debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra in October 2022, an appearance that was highlighted in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

William’s most recent achievements include winning the highest prize at the 2023 Jacob Flier International Piano Competition, First Place at the 2023 NEC Prep Concerto Competition, and Second Place and the Chopin Award at the 2023 MTNA National Senior Piano Competition.

William is a 3rd-year recipient of the Chopin Foundation’s Chopin Scholarship, a 2023 National YoungArts Competition winner in Classical Music, and an NPR” From the Top” Fellow of 2023-2024. Recently, William made his concerto debuts with the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra. In December, he performed two solo concerts for the 2023-2024 “Chopin for All” concert series in Florida.He currently studies piano with Jonathan Bass, having previously studied with Ya-Fei Chuang, John Perry, Natalie Zhu and the late Joy Kiszely.

Sofia Hernandez-Williams, cello, was awarded Honorable Mention for her performance of the Haydn Cello Concerto in C, 1^st movement. Sofia is 10 years old and in 4^th grade.

Honorable Mention was also awarded to Isabella Kong, piano, for her performance of Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor, 1^st movement.  Isabella is a sophomore at Nobel and Greenough School.

Marshunda Smith, LPO Music Director, noted: “There was an impressive tableau of concertos presented this year, which only highlights the growing richness of music education in the Merrimack area.”  She added “Will (Ge) showed the musicality of a professional musician with years of experience performing. His phrasing of the different characters in his left and right hand demonstrated the intellect and subtleness that Chopin wrote while being aware of how the orchestral accompaniment interacts with the solo line. His technical ability, musicality, and emotional presentation shined brighter than the other auditioners.”

Each year, the Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra sponsors the Jeanne Selander Memorial Concerto Competition for young musicians.  The contest is open to young musicians through the age of 18 who live or go to school within 50 miles of Lowell. The Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1903, re-established in 1987. Marshunda Smith is Music Director. Find out more at www.LowellPhilharmonic.org. Contact us at Lowell.Philharmonic@gmail.com.