National Piano Competition – Piano

Hamilton Lau

Named by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as one of "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30," Hamilton Lau is establishing himself as a promising, energetic, and dedicated musician. Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, he began his piano studies at the age of four, and he currently studies at the University of British Columbia with Corey Hamm.

He has achieved awards from numerous competitions at the international, national, and provincial level. He won the Canadian Music Competition and the Performing Arts BC Provincial Festival, received the Silver Medal from the Vancouver International Music Competition, and earned Second Prize at the Shean National Piano Competition. Hamilton has performed concertos, solo recitals, and chamber concerts in Canada, the United States, and Europe, and has attended summer festivals such as the Sarasota Music Festival and Orford Musique. In 2025, he will embark on a solo recital tour of British Columbia, Canada. 

Bogdan Shunkov

Bogdan Shunkov is a passionate and dedicated young pianist with five years of music education and performance experience in both Russia and Canada. He began piano studies at the age of seven at a specialized music school in St. Petersburg before continuing training in Winnipeg. Bogdan actively participates in local and international competitions, continually developing technical skills and musical artistry. He is driven by a deep love for music and a commitment to lifelong learning, striving toward the goal of becoming a professional pianist.

Blake Shepherd

Blake Shepherd is a performing musician from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, specializing in organ and piano. Currently a Bachelor of Music student at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Blake is dedicated to refining his abilities across multiple keyboard instruments. He actively participates in the University's Symphonic Band, demonstrating his versatility as a performer. In November of 2024, Blake won the Mount Allison Concerto Competition, performing the first movement of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor. Beyond his academic studies, Blake frequently performs in both local and regional festival competitions, playing with a variety of ensembles, including community concert bands, orchestras and youth ensembles. Blake has also done a substantial amount of work as a collaborative pianist and teacher, working with singers and teaching piano at Mount Allison. Blake's passion shines through in every performance, and he is excited to further his studies and continue communicating with audiences through music.

Jenny Chen

Fourteen-year-old Jenny Chen started her piano study in 2015 and  has been the recipient of many awards including the Nova Scotia Talent Trust Scholarship, the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teacher Association Scholarship, and the Royal Conservatory of Music Gold Medal in Piano. She has been the Senior Piano prize winner at the Nova Scotia Provincial Finals in the years of 2024, as well as the Junior Piano prize winner of the year 2023 and 2022. Jenny Chen was chosen to represent Nova Scotia at the 2023 Federation of Canadian Music Festival’s National Competition where she was awarded the First Prize in the Developing Artist Stream. At age 11, Jenny won their concerto competition and appeared as the soloist to perform with Chebucto Symphony Orchestra. Jenny was the youngest pianist to be accepted as a scholarship student to the 2023 Orford Summer Music Academy where she studied with Andre Laplante and John Perry and was invited to perform at Gilles-Lefebvre Concert Hall.

When not playing piano, Jenny enjoys swimming, reading, and bird watching. 

Adam Zheng

Ottawa-born pianist Adam Zheng is a Grade 10 student at Merivale High School whose piano journey began at the age of six. Adam holds an RCM Licentiate Diploma (LRCM) in Piano Performance and is studying piano under Dr. Chunson Park.

Since 2018, Adam has received awards at multiple regional and provincial piano competitions. He has reached multiple milestones, such as debuting as a piano soloist with the Divertimento Orchestra at age ten, winning the International Henle Piano Competition at age twelve, and receiving the RCM National Diploma Gold Medals for achieving the highest LRCM and ARCT piano exam marks in Canada during 2023-24 and 2021-22. In Summer 2024, Adam received first place at ORMTA Provincial Young Artist Competition and has delivered a Young Artist piano concert tour across Ontario. 

Adam regularly delivers piano performances in public music events. Beyond his solo career, Adam performs chamber music with violinists. 

Shing Chun Luk

Timothy Luk is currently studying piano at the University of Prince Edward Island. He has participated in competitions including the FCMF National Music Festival, where he received the Chopin Award, the Dr. Frances Gray Performance Competition, where he was awarded the first prize, and the Atlantic Young Artist Competition.

Timothy performed in venues such as the Government House of Prince Edward Island. He has been collaborating and performing with the choral ensembles Island Choral Society and Luminos Ensemble, both directed by Margot Rejskind. 

Julien Gagné

Élève de Richard Raymond au Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Julien Gagné s’est illustré dans plusieurs compétitions. En effet, il obtient une première place à Cégeps en Concert, le grand prix 15-18 ans au concours Classival, le deuxième grand prix au Festival-concours de musique de Sherbrooke et deux premières places au Concours de musique du Canada. Il se produit également avec l’Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Sherbrooke (2022), avec l’Orchestre de l’Université de Sherbrooke (2023) et avec la Sinfonia de Lanaudière (2024). En 2023, au Concours de musique de la Capitale, il obtient une première place dans la catégorie piano défi et en piano concerto de même que le prix de la fondation des Violons du Roy qui lui a permis de se produire avec le célèbre orchestre en mars 2024. En outre, il a pu se perfectionner en classe de maître avec André Laplante, Benedetto Lupo, Charles-Richard Hamelin, Henry Kramer, Jean Saulnier et Éric Lesage. Il a également étudié auprès de Line Villeneuve et Tristan Longval-Gagné.

Esther Zhu

Esther Zhu (ARCT, Piano Perf.) is an accomplished 18 year old pianist from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Previously taught by Adrianne Bank, Michelle Aalders, and Bonnie Nicholson, Esther currently studies with Kathleen Solose at the University of Saskatchewan. 

Since age 3, Esther has been a frequent performer and volunteer, locally and multi-provincially, in the music festival community. She has received prestigious competitive awards including the top Senior Kinsmen Piano Award in Saskatoon (2024), the Garth Beckett/Gustin House Senior Piano award in Saskatchewan (2024) and second place in the Can-West Multi – Provincial Competition (Edmonton, 2023). Esther has also won numerous ACNMP National awards for her performances of Canadian works by Louie, Coulthard and David L. McIntyre (2022-2024).

In Saskatoon, Esther accompanies the Saskatoon Strings Youth Orchestra, is an active chamber musician and piano teacher. Esther gives the glory to God and is proud to represent Saskatchewan at the 2025 CFMTA Piano Competition.