Shorewood student is Division Finalist in MTNA Senior Piano competition

Leah Deobald, pianist

Leah Y. Deobald, 15 year old Shoreline native, will travel to Missoula, Montana in January to compete as a Division Finalist in the Senior Performance Competition of the Music Teachers National Association MTNA.

Leah, the daughter of Dr. Jessie Kim-Deobald and Dr. Lyle Deobald, earned this opportunity after winning the very competitive Washington Division of the Senior Piano Competition.

A sophomore at Shorewood High School, Leah has been studying piano for 10 years and is currently a student of Professor Duane Hulbert, known for his Grammy Award nomination of Glazunov piano recordings.

As a top prize winner for local, national, and international piano competitions, Leah appeared in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Benaroya Hall, Pavlovsk Palace, St. Petersburg Russia and Classical King FM, NW focus Live.

She has been mentored by world renowned concert pianists and pedagogues including Julian Martin from Juilliard School, John Perry, Alexander Sandler from St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia as well as Angela Cheng from Oberlin Conservatory.

The Senior Piano Competition will take place January 16-18, during the MTNA Northwest division Conference. The winner of this competition will advance to the National Finals during the MTNA National Conference in San Antonio, Texas, in April.

Music Teachers National Association is a nonprofit organization comprised of 22,000 independent and collegiate music teachers committed to advancing the value of music study and music making to society and to supporting the professionalism of music teachers. Founded in 1876, Music Teachers National Association is the oldest professional music association in the United States.