Sixteen-year-old South Freeport resident, Will Bristol, one of the most promising young pianists in the country and recent winner of competitions in Maine and New England, will perform at UMA Jewett Auditorium on Sunday, March 14, 2010 (snow date March 21). The recital begins at 2:00 pm.
Now a sophomore at Merriconeag Waldorf School in New Gloucester, Will began his piano studies at age nine with Jonathan Pelletier and continued with Naydene Bowder. He currently studies with Martin Perry, and he has participated in master classes led by Frank Glazer, George Lopez, Laura Kargul, Tamara Poddubnaya, and Inon Barnatan.
A winner in the 2006 Melba Wilson Youth Competition, he went on to garner first prize in the junior category at the Pine Tree Piano Competition and the coveted Mildred Freiberg Prize of the New England Piano Teachers'
Association. Last year he won the Bangor Symphony Orchestra's Concerto Competition, and next year he will be soloist at the opening concert of BSO's upcoming season.
In addition to receiving these state and regional competition honors, Will has been invited to participate in several festivals, including the Arcady Summer Music Festival Concert Series, the Portland Conservatory's International Piano Festival, and the Next Generation Chamber Music Festival in Rockport. During the past two summers, he was the only young pianist from Maine to participate in the Bowdoin International Music Festival, a six-week period of intensive study and performance that brings together many of the most promising musicians from around the world.