Winner of The Music Guild of New Mexico’s Jackie McGehee Young Artists’ Competition for Piano and Strings:
Ishan Loomba piano
An Albuquerque resident, Ishan Loomba is in the 8th grade at Desert Willow Family School in Albuquerque. Now 13 years old, he discovered his love of music at a very young age, picking up familiar tunes at his toy piano and listening to everything from Celtic to Classical music. Ishan began piano lessons in 2007 and gave his debut solo piano recital in 2009, playing compositions by Bach, Chopin, and Haydn. In February 2013, he was guest soloist with the New Mexico Philharmonic, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major. Ishan won several prizes at competitions including first place in his age category at the 2014 Institute for Young Pianists at Southern Methodist University, first place in the 2009 New Mexico Hey Mozart! Composition Competition, and first place in the New Mexico Central District Honors Audition (2011 and 2012). Ishan is a student of Dr. Carol Leone at Southern Methodist University. He also studies music theory and composition with Dr. Jose Luis Hurtado at UNM. Ishan is particularly moved by the music of J.S. Bach, his favorite composer. The most significant artistic influence on his musical personality comes from performers he enjoys, especially Alicia da Larrocha and Evgeny Kissin. In addition to playing the piano and listening to music, he loves swimming, camping, rock climbing, and hiking. Ishan’s parents are Mousumi Roy and Dinesh Loomba.