National piano award won by New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī student

New Zealand School of Music—Te Kōkī (NZSM) second-year Classical Performance student Otis Prescott-Mason has won first place in the biennial Lewis Eady National Piano Competition.

Otis (centre) and the other finalists in the competition.
Otis’ first-place win has afforded him a recital at Lewis Eady Steinway Showroom in Auckland and a cash prize, but what he is most excited about is a performance opportunity with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra.

“There will always be far more pianists than orchestras so the opportunity to work with an orchestra as a pianist is a rare one,” says Otis.

“I entered the competition to get the opportunity to perform in a pressured environment, receive feedback from distinguished pianist Terence Dennis, and also to hear other pianists from around the country.”

Otis’ main teacher at NZSM, Dr Jian Liu, first met Otis in 2017 after one of his concerts. “He was just a young boy starting to get into piano.

“His progression over the last five years has been nothing but extraordinary. Natural talents aside, what impress and move me the most is his intense dedication, focus, and passion for music, which I find quite rare among pianists his age.”

Congratulations Otis!

Watch his finale performance here: https://www.facebook.com/LewisEadyCharitableTrust/videos/963016370994918 at 1:44:00