14-year-old Alyssa Xu is a 9th grader at West Windsor-Plainsboro North in New Jersey, USA. After getting inspired by her sister’s piano practice, she started taking piano lessons with Dr. Zhong Chen when she was about 6. After moving to New Jersey in 2017, Alyssa is studying piano under Professor Ingrid Clarfield. She has won a series of piano competitions and performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kaufman Music Center, and Victoria Theater of New Jersey. Some of the recent awards received include Second Prize at XI Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, First Place at Sixth Camerata Artists International Competition, Second Prize at III and IV Future Stars International Piano Competition, First Prize at 2019 VIVO International Music Competition, Alternate at 2019 MTNA (NJ) Student Performance Competitions, and Second Prize at 2019 Enkor International Piano. In addition to participating in competitions, Alyssa has dedicated herself in the last two years to co-organize Performathon for CHOP – an annual benefit concert held to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In her free time, Alyssa likes to read Webtoons, play video games, and continue to gather stuffed animal penguins to add to her collection.
