Presley Gao piano

First-place Winner of the Jackie McGehee Young Artists’ Competition, 13-year old Presley Gao is in the 9th grade at Los Alamos High School. He began studying the piano at age six. Presley won first place in the New Mexico Music Teachers National Association Junior Piano Competition in 2013 and 2014, and then competed in the Southwest Nationals. He earned first place in District Honors in 2010, 2011, and 2012, plus first place in State Honors Level One (2010) and Level Two (2012). He also won first place in the highest level of the Santa Fe Sonata Contest in 2013. Presley received the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico’s Danfelser Scholarship in 2012; the same year he played two solo piano recitals in Abiquiu and Los Alamos. He currently studies with Dr. Jacquelen Helin, a Steinway Artist. Presley also enjoys science and math. Presley is the son of Jun Gao and Hongzhao Tian.