A Norwegian Legend and Rachmaninoff

André Peck is a 15-year-old from La Crosse, Wisconsin. He is a student of Dr. Joseph Zins of Crocus Hill Studios in St. Paul, Minnesota. André was recently named a ’23-’24 Fellow by the legendary National Public Radio program, From the Top. In June of 2021, as a winner of the Concerto Competition of the Piano Texas International Festival & Academy, André made his orchestral debut at the age of eleven with the Fort Worth Symphony, conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya.

André’s dedication to classical piano has manifested in 19 competition prizes to date, including the Minnesota MTNA, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition, Golden Valley Orchestra Concert Competition, Final Forte with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Young People’s Symphony Concert Association-Minnesota Orchestra, Schubert Club, the St. Paul Piano Teachers Association Concerto Competition, the Minneapolis Mozart Teachers Forum Concerto Competition, the Rising Stars with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, the Nashville International Chopin Competition, the International Young Artist Concerto Competition in Chicago, and the Chicago International Music Competition. He has performed in Master Classes and had private lessons with such international luminaries as Aviram Reichert, Boris Slutsky, Jan Jiracek von Arnim, Tamás Ungár, Arie Vardi, Mikhail Voskresensky, Dang Thai Son, Pascal Nemirovsky, Alvin Chow, Alan Chow, Angela Cheng, Michelle Cann, Asaf Zohar, Yoheved Kaplinsky, and Gabriel Kwok.

André’s passions in addition to piano include tennis, mathematics, and chess. His interest in giving back to his community using his pianistic gifts includes organizing concerts for the La Crosse Children’s Museum, the Memorial Pool, Logan High School, and the Viterbo University School of Music, raising over $15,000. His spirit of philanthropy was instilled by his parents, Christopher Peck and Chau Nguyen. André is a junior at Logan High School in La Crosse.

Gaia Daniel is a 15-year-old pianist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. A third generation of musicians from Florence in Italy, she began playing piano at age 7. Gaia was recently named a ‘25-’26 Fellow of NPR’s From the Top program. Since her orchestral debut at age 11, she has made solo appearances with several orchestras, including the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, the Dakota Valley Symphony, and the Minnetonka Symphony Orchestra.

Gaia was a top prize winner of numerous competitions, including the 1st prize in the Schubert Club Competition, 1st prize in the Thursday Musical Competition, 2nd prize in the Canada International Piano competition, 2nd prize in the Paderewski International Piano Competition, 2nd prize in the Chicago International Music Competition, 1st prize in MMTF Mozart Concerto Competition, and 1st prize in the DVS Young Artists Concerto Competition. She was the highest ranked pianist and twice a prize winner of the Minnesota Orchestra Concerto Competition.

Gaia participated in the Vivace and Chicago international music festivals. She performed in masterclasses for luminaries such as Mikhail Voskresensky, Jerome Lowenthal, Hung-Kuan Chen, Yoshikazu Nagai, Michelle Cann, Angela Cheng, Steven Spooner, Adam Gyorgy, Ursula Oppens and Jason Kwak. Gaia is currently studying with Dr. Ksenia Nosikova.

Aside from music, Gaia is an avid writer and interested in international relations and anthropological linguistics.  She is also a passionate ballet dancer and runs in the high school track and cross-country team.