Will Gannon
About the Artist
Will Gannon, sixteen, is an eleventh-grade high school student attending the University of Minnesota on full scholarship under the State of Minnesota’s Post-Secondary Enrollment Options program. Will studies piano with Dr. Joseph Zins of Crocus Hill Studios in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Despite his relatively late arrival to the piano at age 11, Will’s intense studies have enabled him to quickly rise to the level of his peers. Will’s most recent achievements include earning first place in the 2021-22 MTNA state level piano competition, runner up in the 2021-22 MTNA regional piano competition, finalist and prize winner in both the 2022 Minnesota Orchestra Concerto competition and the 2022 Lacrosse Symphony Orchestra Concerto competition, first place in the 2021 Thursday Musical high school piano competition, and second place in the 2021 Schubert Club Scholarship competition. In June of 2021, Will was accepted to the Piano Texas International Festival & Academy where he had the opportunity to study with such luminaries as Tamás Ungár and Stanislov Ioudenitch and to present multiple solo performances. Will was once again selected for this year’s academy (2022) as one of just 24 in the Junior Division (under 17) in an ever-increasingly competitive environment. As a high school freshman, Will earned the opportunity to perform in front of more than 3,000 music teachers as a featured soloist at the Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Clinic.
Will is also an avid jazz pianist (studying with Mary Louise Knutson) and also enjoys accompanying other musicians in solo and chamber settings, including performing with his older brother who studies classical saxophone performance at the University of Minnesota School of Music.
