Washington Island native, Lawrence music student wins national piano competition

Christopher Clough, Green Bay Press-Gazette
·2 min read
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APPLETON - A Washington Island native and student at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music recently won first place in a national piano competition.

Washington Island native Jonathan Bass, a student at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, won the 2023 Biennial Piano Competition held by the National Federation of Music Clubs.
Washington Island native Jonathan Bass, a student at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, won the 2023 Biennial Piano Competition held by the National Federation of Music Clubs.

Jonathan Bass, a double-degree student in his fourth year at the Appleton-based school, won the Biennial Piano Competition organized by the National Federation of Music Clubs.

Piano students from across the country entered the competition, which was judged by video recordings of the students performing for the competition that were submitted online. The pianists were required to play five pieces − one by Bach, one by an American composer, one the first movement of a Haydn, Mozart, Schubert or Beethoven sonata, one a piece by a Romantic composer and the other an etude − and the total performance time could not exceed 30 minutes.

Bass learned about the competition from Michael Mizrahi, the Frank C. Shattuck Professor of Music at the conservatory.

"This competition required a wide variety of repertoire, which gave Jonathan a good motivation to push himself to learn a lot of music," Mizrahi said in a news release from the school. "And this particular competition brings tangible benefits, like a prize and some media exposure."

"I had no idea how it was going to go," Bass said, "but I decided, 'Let's give this a shot.'"

Bass began taking piano lessons at age 3 and has become a familiar face to classical music fans in Door County. He was a student for four summers at Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor, winning awards for outstanding musicianship three out of those years as well as playing with the music academy's Birch Creek Jazz Ambassadors. Bass earned scholarships from Birch Creek and Peninsula Music Festival and graduated from the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan before attending Lawrence.

In 2019 Bass performed the first movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Birch Creek Symphony Orchestra. In recent years, including this year, PMF has brought in Bass as a guest soloist for its February Fest chamber music concerts at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor. He also has won a number of other piano competitions.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Door County native, music student wins national piano competition