Nita and Gloriana have both studied under Dr. Joseph Zins and Dr. Jo Anne Link – Artists and Teachers of Piano at Crocus Hill Studios in St. Paul, MN. Nita Qiu will perform in Freshman Recital at 2:00PM, followed by Gloriana Wolf in Alumna Recital at 3:30PM. CLICK HERE to view their programs.
Nita Qiu
Nita Qiu is fifteen years of age and has just finished her freshman year of high school. Rising from the rich firmament of Minnesota pianism, Nita has studied for ten years with the nationally distinguished artist/teacher, Dr. Joseph Zins, of Crocus Hill Studios in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Enrolled in the Studio’s high intensity Performance Studies for the Gifted and Talented Pre-College Student, she is a leading member of the Premier Class.
As a 2017 Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) Varsity Showcase Young Artist, Nita recently performed at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul in a live broadcast. Her previous professional recording at MPR’s Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio was aired twice earlier this year. Nita was the First Place Winner in each of the St. Paul Piano Teachers (SPPTA) Concerto Competition (1015), Young Artist World Piano Festival Concerto Competition (2014), and the Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum Mozart Concerto Competition (2014). As a result, Nita has performed with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra, the Young Artist World Piano Festival Orchestra, and the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, she was the Second Place Winner of Thursday Musical’s Young Artist Scholarship Competition, (Junior High Division).
On the national and international level, Nita was just named a semi-finalist for the second year in a row at the Southeastern Piano Festival’s Arthur Fraser International Competition in Columbia, South Carolina. She was also a semi-finalist at The International Institute for Young Musicians (IIYM) International Competition in 2016. In 2015, Nita was the Third Place Winner of the Aloha International Piano Competition and Festival in Honolulu, and was a National Finalist in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Young Artist Competition (Junior Category) in Las Vegas. In April, 2013, Nita was the winner of Second Place (Division I) in the national Augustana College Lee Piano Competition, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Nita is a competitive swimmer as well as a prize-winning poet. She loves to read and watch movies. Nita is a resident of Woodbury, Minnesota.
Watch Nita perform Chopin’s “Barcarolle in F sharp Major, Op. 60”:
Gloriana Wolf
A highly versatile musician, Gloriana Wolf is equally comfortable performing solo repertoire as she is in musical collaboration. Gloriana has just finished her first year as a Piano Major at the Butler School of Music, University of Texas, Austin. She studies with the great international pianist, Anton Nel. Prior to that, Gloriana studied for two years with Dr. Joseph Zins of Crocus Hill Studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, and continues to coach with him when she is in town.
As a freshman, Gloriana won Second Prize in the David O. Nilsson Undergraduate Piano Competition at the University of Texas. As a high school senior, she was a prize winner in the St. Paul Piano Teachers Association and Music Association of Minnetonka competitions. As a junior, Gloriana was a prize winner in the Thursday Musical solo competition and the La Crosse (WI) Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, placing second and third respectively. Gloriana studied at the Young Artist World Piano Festival for five years, and at the International Institute for Young Musicians (2015). She also studied and performed chamber music for six years at the Stringwood Summer Festival and as a member of the Artaria Chamber Music School during her pre-college years, collaborating on piano, violin, and viola. Gloriana graduated from Breck School.
Watch Gloriana perform Chopin’s “Etude at Sundin”:
