Division I: Third Place – Sophia Popescu
Student of Tanya Schwartzman


Sophia is 9 years old. She is entering 4th grade at East Elementary School in Sharon, Massachusetts. Her favorite school subjects are math, music, and art. She loves her school because she has made many good friends and met wonderful teachers. 

Sophia has been studying piano with Ms. Tanya Schwartzman since she was 5 years old. She loves sharing her passion for music with audiences at competitions and various performance venues. When asked what playing piano means to her, she wrote: “When I just started learning piano, I loved the sound that comes out of this big beautiful music box. I feel it was fun hitting the black and white keys. Now that I have learned to play piano for more than 3 years, I feel like playing piano has become a part of my daily life. Now the fun of playing piano is that I can see colors, I can imagine stories, I can picture characters, and I can show my feelings through different pieces. I like going to competitions and recitals to perform, especially places that have Steinway pianos. I feel very happy when the audience is getting excited with my performance. I will continue to learn to play more beautiful pieces.” She has won multiple awards at piano competitions including the 1st place at the IV Paderewski International Piano Competition, the 2nd place at the International Young Artist Piano and the 1st place at the MMTA 51th Annual Bay State Piano Contest.

Sophia is active in sports. She likes rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating, tennis and swimming. In her spare time, Sophia also enjoys singing, reading, and drawing. 

Awards in 2020

  1. 3rd Place in Division 1 (age 10 and under) at the Steinway Society of Massachusetts Piano Competition 
  2. 2nd Place in Group 1 (age 8 and under) at the International Young Artist Piano Competition
  3. 1st Place at the Little Mozarts Piano Competition
  4. Bach Award in the little pianist division (age 7-10) at the URI Piano Extravaganza!

Awards in 2019

  1. 1st place in the Junior category at the IV Paderewski International Piano Competition
  2. 1st place in the 6-7 years division at the MMTA 51th Annual Bay State Piano Contest
  3. Grand Prize at the Little Mozarts Piano Competition
  4. Gershwin Award in the little pianist division (age 7-10) at the URI Piano Extravaganza!

Awards in 2018

  1. 2nd place in the 6-7 years division at the MMTA 50th Annual Bay State Piano Contest
  2. 1st place at the Little Mozarts Piano Competition

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