Ross McKee Foundation Reveals 2025 Piano Competition Laureates and Final Concert

The Ross McKee Foundation have announced the four young pianists named as 2025 McKee Laureates: Avery Armstrong (12), Isabel Feng (14), Peter Parra (15), and Meining Wu (16). Each laureate will receive a $2,000 award and perform at the Laureates Concert on Sunday, December 14, at 5:00 p.m. in the Sol Joseph Recital Hall at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Admission is free and open to the public.

The 2025 laureates represent some of the most accomplished young pianists in the nation. Each has already earned recognition in major national and international competitions, appeared on prestigious concert stages, and studied with leading conservatory faculty. Among them are Chopin Foundation Scholars, NPR From the Top Fellows, international competition winners, and concerto soloists — a testament to the extraordinary caliber of young talent emerging from Northern California.

This year’s competition drew a record number of applicants from across Northern California, reflecting the region’s remarkable depth of young piano talent. From this highly competitive pool, ten semifinalists (ages 12–17) were invited to perform live before a distinguished panel of judges. Their programs showcased virtuosic repertoire alongside the required contemporary work Prelude No. 1 by Evans Kocja, selected through a composition competition hosted by Ensemble for These Times (E4TT), a Ross McKee Foundation grantee.

The 2025 jury represented some of the most respected voices in the piano world: Jeffrey Chappell, acclaimed soloist and composer known for performances with major U.S. orchestras and his work at Peabody Conservatory; Louise Costigan-Kerns, celebrated pedagogue and concert pianist on the faculty of Stanford University; Tanya Gabrielian (McKee Laureate ’98), international performer and Juilliard alum whose career spans Carnegie Hall to Wigmore Hall; Sarah Gao, distinguished pianist and educator, and founder and executive director of the San Francisco International Piano Competition; and Yu-Chi Tai, accomplished performer and longtime faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Division.

After an inspiring day of performances, the judges selected the four laureates, with Peter Parra receiving special recognition as the Composer’s Choice Award recipient for his interpretation of Prelude No. 1.

“Every year, the artistry and depth of musical expression we hear from these young pianists reminds us why this competition exists,” said Patricia Taylor Lee, President of the Board for the Ross McKee Foundation. “It’s about celebrating excellence while nurturing passion, and the joy of seeing these performers step confidently into their next musical chapters.”

Founded in 1997 by the Foundation’s first executive director John Cron, the Ross McKee Piano Competition has awarded over $150,000 in prizes and supported more than 150 young artists, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers as performers, composers, and educators at leading conservatories around the world.

The competition is one of many programs through which the Ross McKee Foundation fulfills its mission “to enrich our lives with beauty and understanding through the language of music.” Over nearly three decades, the Foundation has granted more than $2.5 million to support pianists, composers, and Bay Area music organizations — from funding piano education in schools to commissioning new works and sustaining local musicians through the pandemic.

For more information, visit www.rossmckeefoundation.org.