This weekend, the featured young soloist is Shivshankar Prasad, a pianist who first appeared on Introductions in April 2022 as a finalist in the 2022 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition. His live recital in WFMT’s Fay and Daniel Levin Performance Studio features music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, and Richard Danielpour.
Shivshankar Prasad made his professional debut in 2021 as a soloist with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Stephen Alltop. He also appeared as a soloist with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago, and he performed at Symphony Center with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in March 2022. As first prize winners in the 2022 American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, Shivshankar and his sister Sreedevi will perform at Carnegie Hall in June 2023.
The recipient of numerous recognitions at competitions throughout the region, Shivshankar holds top prizes from the Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition, DePaul Concerto Festival, the Stanger Young Artists Concerto Competition, the Sejong Music Competition, the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Competition, the Roberta Savler Piano Contest, the Illinois Music Association Competition, and the Society of American Musicians Competition.
A student of Dr. Soyoung Kee, Shivshankar is a senior at James B. Conant High School in Hoffman Estates. Shivshankar regularly performs with Magic of Music, a student-led volunteer organization that performs for residents of assisted living facilities. When he is not at the piano, Shivshankar enjoys learning Carnatic (Indian classical) violin and spending time with his friends and family.
