Chord progression: from UTRGV to Carnegie Hall

Jingyue Ren, a UTRGV graduate student, puts all of her emotions into playing the piano, which has earned her a spot to play at Carnegie
Hall this summer as a winning soloist of the New York Golden Classical Music Awards. 

Ren, who is studying for a master’s in piano performance, will be a featured soloist in the New York Golden Classical Music Awards winners’ concert in July at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall in New York City. 

The New York Golden Classical Music Awards is an international competition open to strings, piano, wind, chamber music and vocal disciplines of all nationalities and ages with the purpose to “discover artists of outstanding personality and provide awards which can launch international careers,” according to its website. 

“I feel excited because this is a great chance for me to perform at Carnegie Hall,” Ren said. “And, maybe, I can get to know other good performers, professors, and make friends there.” 

Ren, who is originally from Shuozhou, China, performed “Klavierstücke” Op. 119 by Johannes Brahms on her recorded audition that she submitted to the organization. 

Describing her playing style as emotional, Ren said, “Emotion is the most important part of playing piano. It is like being a different character in different pieces, like an actor.” 

Ren said she was shocked when she found out she had won the award.

“I wasn’t sure before I got [the award] and I got so happy and I think my friends and my professor were so happy, too,” she said. 

She said her parents advised her to not become complacent with the achievement and to continue to practice every day.  

Brendan Kinsella, a professor of piano at the UTRGV School of Music, told The Rider it is great that Ren will showcase the talents of the program and gain the experience as a soloist to play at Carnegie Hall, a destination performance space internationally.

“It’s a great validation for the experience that we offer here at UTRGV,” Kinsella said. “… It really showcases the fact that our students are just as good, if not better than many other music schools across the nation.” 

While he has only known Ren for about a year, Kinsella said she is a fantastic student and a role model for the other students in the program. 

“She has really broadened our culture in a lot of ways and shown us a very high level of performance, and the other students aspire to what she accomplishes,” he said. “She’s someone who I can give very complicated assignments to and always know she can complete them with a really strong sense of artistry.” 

Describing her musical personality as closely intertwined with her personality, Kinsella said Ren’s confidence, sensitivity and genuine spirit can be seen in her performances.

Paola Karolina Garcia, a fellow graduate music performance peer, said she is happy and excited for her friend, Ren, and hopes to be able to see her perform live this summer in New York City. 

“I really like how she comprehends [music pieces],” Garcia said. “It’s something I noticed about her playing. She’s reached a high level of maturity in her playing and she knows certain styles of playing really well.” 

Asked what advice she has for UTRGV pianists and School of Music students, Ren replied to keep practicing every day and learn about the history of a piece before performing it. 

“It can help [people] to complete the piece better and … to make more emotions of it,” she said.