2013 Scholarship Winner
Mark Hadden
Piano — University of Georgia
21-year-old pianist Mark Hadden began playing the piano at age 7, with a teacher just down the street. Though born into a completely non-musical family, his parents were nonetheless fully supportive of their child's many interests, which included a multitude of things besides the piano. This changed in early high school where Mark made his own discovery of classical music through recordings of Mozart and Chopin - which his mother had bought for him at a yard sale. Keenly interested, Mark dove into the classical music world - buying recordings, music scores, and using the internet and the piano to explore this deeply captivating world.
Wanting to study with an advanced teacher, Mark began studying with Atlanta piano teacher Edith Schiff in his junior year of high school, transforming his approach to the piano and growing him as a musician. Mark won many GMTA piano competitions as a child, but was now winning accolades including scholarships to study at Florida State and Indiana University summer music camps as well as scholarship competitions put on by the Gainesville Pro Musica and the Atlanta Music Club. He is now in his third year at the University of Georgia studying piano performance under Dr. Evgeny Rivkin - where he is also studying organ and music theory, among other musical pursuits. Concurrent with his studies, he is enjoying singing in various groups, playing piano and percussion for the UGA Symphonic Band, playing lots of chamber music with other musicians, and being the church pianist and choir accompanist at Midway United Methodist Church.
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Wanting to study with an advanced teacher, Mark began studying with Atlanta piano teacher Edith Schiff in his junior year of high school, transforming his approach to the piano and growing him as a musician. Mark won many GMTA piano competitions as a child, but was now winning accolades including scholarships to study at Florida State and Indiana University summer music camps as well as scholarship competitions put on by the Gainesville Pro Musica and the Atlanta Music Club. He is now in his third year at the University of Georgia studying piano performance under Dr. Evgeny Rivkin - where he is also studying organ and music theory, among other musical pursuits. Concurrent with his studies, he is enjoying singing in various groups, playing piano and percussion for the UGA Symphonic Band, playing lots of chamber music with other musicians, and being the church pianist and choir accompanist at Midway United Methodist Church.