2017 Young Artists Concerto Winner Bethany Brinson

Bethany Brinson, a homeschooled 16-year-old student from Holly Springs, North Carolina, will be performing Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, mvt. 1 with the Durham Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, April the 15th at 8:00 pm.

In January 2017, Bethany won First Place in the Durham Symphony Young ArtistsConcerto Competition. A piano student of Derison Duarte of Chapel Hill, she has also previously studied piano with Dr. Margaret Evans of Meredith College, technique with Sheila Paige, and performed in master classes with Frederic Chiu, Nicholas Roth, Marina Lomazov, Peter Takács, and Ann Schein. In 2016, Bethany was awarded First Place in the 2016 East Carolina University Young Artist Competition, Senior Division, as well as the Keyboard Alumni Prize for the most outstanding performance of a single work in the competition. In 2015, she won First Place in the Senior Division of the North Carolina MTNA Piano Competition and received Honorable Mention at the subsequent MTNA Southern Division Regional Competition. Bethany is also a composer and studies composition with Julie Harris of Carrboro, North Carolina. Her works include compositions for solo piano and chamber music, as well as film scores. Her recent compositions include a set of solo piano pieces titled “A Gathering of Birds,” which was compiled into a piano book. In 2016, she was commissioned to write a choral piece for the dedication of a new church building. In 2015, Bethany won First Place in the Senior Division of the North Carolina MTNA Composition Competition.

Her works include compositions for solo piano and chamber music, as well as film scores. Her recent compositions include a set of solo piano pieces titled “A Gathering of Birds,” which was compiled into a piano book. In 2016, she was commissioned to write a choral piece for the dedication of a new church building. In 2015, Bethany won First Place in the Senior Division of the North Carolina MTNA Composition Competition.