Steinway Jr. Artist Winners' Concert & Award Ceremony
with first-place pianists
Kleo Zhao, Division 1, Joyce Cao, Division 2 & Spencer Sun, Division 3
Saturday, May 4, 2024
2:00 PM
Free Admission
No reservations necessary
Steinway Piano Gallery of Detroit is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Steinway Jr. Artist Competition. In this year's competition, pianists ages 18 and under competed for up to $750 in prize money and official recognition from an iconic world-class piano brand. We invite you to join us as we listen to exclusive performances by the first-place winners and award all the winners with their prizes.
Division 1:
First Place: Kleo Zhao
Second Place: Jayden Zheng
Third Place: Abigail Chen
Division 2:
First Place: Joyce Cao
Second Place: Leah Yeon
Third Place: Sophia Jin
Division 3:
First Place: Spencer Sun
Third Place: Sophia Chacko
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Kleo Zhao 1st Place, Division 1
Kleo Zhao is homeschooled and in 4th grade. He started learning piano at age four with his mother, Shuyu Lin, and his father Dizhou Zhao. He was invited to perform at Carnegie hall in 2019 and Japan in 2023. He also won 2nd prize at the Steinway Jr. Artist Competition in 2023 and the first prize at the MDML Young Artist Competition in 2024. Besides playing piano, Kleo is also interested in conducting and playing violin. Kleo also enjoys taking the subway to explore different cities.
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Joyce Cao, 1st Place, Division 2
Joyce Cao is 11 years old and currently in 5th grade at Schroeder Elementary School. She has been playing piano with Dr. Nai-Wen Wang since age six. Joyce received First Place at the Metro Detroit Musicians League Young Artist Competition in 2021 (Lower Elem) and 2023 (Upper Elem), Third Place (Division I) in 2023 and Second Place (Division II) in 2024 at the Oakland University Piano Day Competition. She also won the First Place at the Schoolcraft College Honors Auditions (Elem Division) in 2024. Besides piano, Joyce enjoys playing tennis and violin.
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Spencer Sun, 1st Place, Division 3
Spencer Sun is a sophomore at Stoney Creek High School. His piano teacher is Ms. Catherine Rollin. In addition to winning the first-place award from the Steinway Jr. Artist Competition, Spencer also won the 1st place of the 2024 MDML Young Artist Piano Competition and the 2024 Birmingham Musicale. He won the 1st and 2nd places in the State Piano Concerto Competition of Michigan in 2017 and 2023 respectively. In 2021, he placed 2nd in the SAT State finals. He also won multiple years of MDML, Golden Key and American Protégé piano competitions in the past. Spencer plays tennis in the varsity team and is a tenor in the Chamber Choir of his school.