RICHARD AN (16) was born and raised in Los Angeles, and now lives in La Crescenta. He displayed an interest in piano at an early age, and asked his parents for lessons when he was three. Since then, he’s been to the SYMF more that six times, and placing in the top three in his category four times. He’s a regular performer at the Southern California Bach Festival, having played more than 8 times. He formed his own piano trio (named KPA Trio) with two of his friends, and held his first concert with them at the age of 14 at a local church. Richard repertoire encompasses Beethoven, Bach, Schubert, Rachmaninov, Schumann, Kuhlau, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Scarlatti, and more. He discovered an interest in musical composition at the age of 12, when his friends urged him into a school arts competition. Having no prior composing experience, Richard tried anyway and got first place. He entered this competition twice more in the following years and got first place in both. He arranges pieces for his friends to play in ensembles, most notably his own and a group named Ensemble Memo.