A Grade 11 student from Walter Murray will perform with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra on Saturday night. Jerry Hu says it’s his first time performing with an orchestra, something he has dreamed of doing. Hu has been playing the piano since he was 4 years old.

The 16 year old practices two to three hours a day on weekdays and three to four hours on weekends, especially when there is a big event coming up, like his guest performance with the SSO. Hu won the Saskatchewan Music Association’s 2021 Shurniak Concerto Competition, which led to his booking with the orchestra.

The whole night on Saturday is themed around Beethoven, including the well known Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. Hu will be playing Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto. Hu says he has been practicing it for two months. He doesn’t believe it’s the most difficult technical piece he has done, but says musically it’s more challenging to find the “notes and shaping”.

The youth theme continues with the guest conductor for Saturday’s performance. Nicolas Ellis was named one of the 2020 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30.

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