Ridgewood NJ Student Performs at Carnegie Hall

On March 3, 2024, Sophia Oliver, a Ridgewood High School freshman participated in The Crescendo International Music Competition held at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. Sophia qualified for the 2024 Crescendo International recital competition by securing first place in the organization’s regional audition at Caldwell University on December 10th, 2023.

The Crescendo International Competition is the United States’ leading non- profit music organization which assists young musicians to develop their music talent. This year, over 5800 applications were accepted for global musical audition competitions with recital invitations granted to only first and second place audition winners. Of the first- place winners, only a handful of those with the highest scores who demonstrated special achievement and artistry have been selected by special invitation only to perform at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.

This year’s Carnegie Hall Zankel recital selection is Sophia’s fifth year of participation in the Crescendo international music competitions. In 2019. she was selected and participated in a Crescendo sponsored International Music Student Exchange Summer Program in Japan.

For her December 2023 audition and March 2024 recital at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, Sophia performed Frederic Chopin’s Waltz in E minor B56.

Since 2016, Sophia has been a piano student of Ms. Shelia Huang of the Melody Music Institute of Wyckoff and Saddle Brook NJ. Commenting on Sophia’s ability to perform sophisticated classical musical compositions, Ms. Huang said “ … Sophia has achieved an advanced level of skill and her style of play is very musical which results in a deep emotional interpretation of the music…” Reflecting on Sophia’s continued development in the study of music, Ms. Huang commented “… Rather than being just instructional in nature, our recent weekly sessions have become more of a collaborative effort with Sophia sharing her opinion regarding the composer’s intent when the music was originally created. To me, that is a sign of growing maturity in the discipline …”

In addition to her dedication and commitment to the study of piano, Sophia shares a similar passion for the game of golf. Sophia is a member of Ridgewood High School’s 2024 Girls golf team after participating the last few years in tri state US Kids and PGA Junior golf tournaments as well as in the Bergen County sponsored Pioneer Junior Golf Tour.

Sophia’s other interests include alpine skiing and the contemporary arts in addition to the other extracurricular clubs she has joined at Ridgewood High School during her freshman year.