January 24 features 12 year old pianist, Kadar Qian playing Chopin's 2nd piano concerto. Kadar Qian, of Westford, recently won the Metrowest Symphony concerto competition. Last year he was the youngest performer ever to win the Quincy Symphony Orchestra concerto competition. He received a $1,000 Scholarship and was the featured soloist at the QSO annual Young Artist Performs concert last April, performing the complete Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2, which he will be performing with the Salem Philharmonic on January 24th. He has participated in 13 competitions since the age of 9, winning 2 concerto competitions and receiving 1st prize in the Steinway Society competition in 2009 (age 10-12 division) and the Westford School music competition in 2nd grade. He also won 2nd Prize in the 2009 Nashoba Youth Orchestra concerto competition.

Kadar has studied piano since age 4 with Ronald Kmiec and has given more than 35 performances in Boston, Carlisle, Concord, Littleton, and Westford, MA, and New York City. His first solo recital was in February, 2008. He appeared at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in May of 2008, being selected in competitive auditions from over 600 musicians nationwide, and has performed at Jordan Hall, Boston. He currently takes a Piano Seminar Course and Chamber Music classes at NEC, has performed in contemporary and chamber music festival concerts there, and pursues independent study in music analysis and conducting with Yoichi Udagawa (Boston Conservatory conducting faculty and conductor of the Cape Ann, Melrose and Quincy Symphony Orchestras).