Portrait of Jonathan Truong in a dark suit, arms crossed

Pianist · Chicago · Age 12

Jonathan Truong

2026 Concerto Soloist, SEEN Chamber Orchestra · 2025 O’Malley National Concerto Competition Winner (Early Music, Junior Division)

Music immerses mein stories,emotions,humor, andendless discovery.

Watch him playIn his own words
I.

In his own words

To me, music is like a story that is always changing. I love how the same piece can make me imagine something different each time, and it makes me even more curious to explore what else classical music can reveal.

Jonathan, age 12
Jonathan practicing at home
II.

Performances

Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414

I. Allegro

with SEEN Chamber Orchestra, Conner Gray Covington, conductor

Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University, 2026 · age 12

Prokofiev

Visions fugitives, Op. 22

No. 4 Animato · No. 5 Molto giocoso · No. 6 Con eleganza

Chicago International Music Competition, Finalist, 2026 · age 12

Earlier years, age 9 to 11

Bach age 11

Partita No. 1 in B-flat major, BWV 825

North Shore Music Teachers Association Piano Competition Winner

Frank Bridge age 10

Miniatures for Piano Trio, H. 87

Chicago Chamber Music Festival Recital, 2024

Debussy age 10

Petite Suite

Suzuki Youth Piano Collaboration Performance, 2024

Beethoven age 9

Sonata in G major, Op. 49 No. 2

Gold Medal, CAMTA Sonata-Sonatina Festival

Kabalevsky age 9

Six Variations on a Ukrainian Folk Song, Op. 51

Recital at Montgomery Place Retirement Community, Chicago, 2023

Jonathan performing Mozart with the SEEN Chamber Orchestra at Ganz Hall
Mozart K. 414 with the SEEN Chamber Orchestra · Ganz Hall, Chicago, 2026
III.

Making music together

Orchestra

Performing as soloist with the SEEN Chamber Orchestra in Mozart's Concerto K. 414, Ganz Hall, 2026.

Chamber music

Playing alongside string players in Frank Bridge's Miniatures for Piano Trio at the Chicago Chamber Music Festival, 2024.

Piano duo

Sharing one keyboard with a partner as a Youth Assembly Piano Duo performer at the 2024 Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference.

Community

Bringing recitals to the residents of Montgomery Place Retirement Community in Chicago, 2023 and 2024.

Masterclass Private Lessons with

Steven Osborne · Antonio Pompa-Baldi · Alan Chow · Spencer Myer · James Giles · Steven Spooner · Adam Gyorgy · Sergio Monteiro · James Goldsworthy

Jonathan seen through the open lid of a grand piano
IV.

Bio

Jonathan Truong is a 12-year-old pianist from the Chicago area who hears music as a living story, full of humor, emotion, and meanings that change each time he plays.

He began piano lessons at age 5 with Ms. Patricia Heineman-Vernon at a local church studio. At 11 he moved to the New Music School in Chicago, where he now studies with Dr. Wenting Shi and Dr. Winston Choi and has developed a deeper interest in classical music.

His curiosity and imagination keep drawing him deeper into the repertoire, where every listening experience can reveal something new. That same curiosity shows up beyond the piano: he is a Davidson Young Scholar who loves advanced mathematics, competitive science, chess, and collecting rocks and minerals.

In 2026, Jonathan was selected to perform as a concerto soloist with the SEEN Chamber Orchestra under the direction of conductor Conner Gray Covington at Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University. He was also named an Early Music Winner in the Junior Division of the 2025 O’Malley National Concerto Competition (formerly the Walgreens National Concerto Competition).

Studies at
New Music School, Chicago
Current teachers
Dr. Wenting Shi, Dr. Winston Choi

Other curiosities

  • Advanced math
  • Competitive science
  • Chess
  • Rocks & minerals
  • Swimming
  • Biking
V.

Repertoire

Classical Periodc. 1750–1820

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart1756–1791

  • Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414

    • I. Allegro
    ▶ Watch

Ludwig van Beethoven1770–1827

  • Piano Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10, No. 2

    • I. Allegro
    • II. Allegretto (Menuetto)
    • III. Presto

Romantic Periodc. 1820–1900

Carl Czerny1791–1857

  • The School of Velocity, Op. 299

    • Études Nos. 16, 19, 20, 22, and 23

Felix Mendelssohn1809–1847

  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

Franz Liszt1811–1886

  • Transcendental Études, S. 139

    • No. 9 in A-flat major, Ricordanza

Edvard Grieg1843–1907

  • Lyric Pieces, Op. 43

    • No. 1, Butterfly

20th-Century / Modern Period

Sergei Prokofiev1891–1953

  • Visions fugitives, Op. 22

    • No. 4, Animato
    • No. 5, Molto giocoso
    • No. 6, Con eleganza
    • No. 14, Feroce
    ▶ Watch
VI.

Honors

  1. 2026
    • Soloist, SEEN Chamber Orchestra, Ganz Hall
    • First Place, Illinois State Music Teachers Association Competition, Junior Division
    • Finalist, Chicago International Music Competition
  2. 2025
    • Early Music Winner, Junior Division, O’Malley National Concerto Competition (formerly Walgreens National Concerto Competition)
    • First Place, CAMTA Roberta Savler Piano Contest, Level C
    • Second Place, North Shore Music Teachers Association Piano Competition
    • Honorable Mention, NIU Community School of the Arts Sinfonia Concerto Competition
  3. 2024
    • Third Place, Illinois State Music Teachers Association Competition
    • Selected as One of Four Young Pianists for Masterclass and Youth Piano Duo, Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference, Louisville, Kentucky
  4. Others
    • Multiple Gold Medals from 2022 to 2025, NSMTA & CAMTA Sonata-Sonatina Festivals
    • Scholarships: 2026 Chicago International Music Festival; 2025 NSMTA Summer Camp; 2024 Western Springs Music Club Parello & Veverka Competition
VIII.

Contact

For performances and inquiries, please contact: jtruong@newmusicschool.com