Steinway Competition Launch
As top prize winners at the previous Steinway National Competition, Zhonghua Wei and Zimu Wei (no relation) were invited to represent professional and amateur divisions. For the uninitiated, professional means an enrolled student of a music conservatory whereas amateur means non-conservatory. In China, most conservatories start at junior high, ages 12-18, so amateur usually refers to under-12 and professional over-12. What of the over-12 amateurs you ask? They exist, but due to the high-pressure academics of Chinese middle and high schools, they don’t have much time to practice so the level tends to drop off a bit. Anyway, 700+ teachers showed up for this launch event in Guangzhou, unbelievable. Also, these two kids went from shorter than me to a head taller than me in the span of a year or two, unbelievable.
