- André Peck: I'm André Peck, I'm a pianist from La Crosse, and I'll be playing Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.

1, Opus 10, in D Flat major.

My middle name is Previn, so my full name is André Previn Peck, and I am a descendant of the Previn family.

André Previn, of course, was the extremely famous conductor and pianist.

I'm more directly related to Charles Previn.

He was a film composer, won an Oscar, and was nominated for a lot of awards.

[bright piano music] Prokofiev was different, and there's a lot more dissonance, and there's new ideas that sparked because of his music.

He wanted the music to reflect the ideas that he was seeing in society, and I thought that was really fitting right now because, you know, we live in a time where there's a lot of strife everywhere, and it's kind of important to have your own voice.

[train horn sounds] We started taking lessons in St.

Paul, Minnesota.

My teacher is Dr.

Joseph Zins.

- Dr.

Joseph Zins: That's right, that's right.

Very good.

- André: He's great.

I think he's one of the most down-to-earth people that I know.

- [sings] One, two, three, one, two, three.

- André: He has this old-school tendencies that are part of his charm, but also, for me, they kind of reflect the pinnacle of music.

[piano notes] - There it is, there it is.

- André: It's really important to have a teacher that both understands you and can communicate with you, but also has the musical values that I have as well.

- Band leader: One, two, three, four.

[jazz music] - André: Jazz band has always been kind of a fun thing for me because the world of solo piano is oftentimes very lonely.

[students talk] When I get to enjoy my music with other people, it's more of an exciting experience for me.

- [snaps] One, two, three, four.

When you look at some structures that are in jazz, and then you compare them to the structures in classical, and they actually build on each other.

[bright piano music] Every single note in Prokofiev has a purpose, and that's kind of been the most important thing for me to try to discover when I'm playing.

And I really think that it's incredibly important to find music's connection with one's self.

When I accomplish something on the piano, it helps me in other parts of my life.

You have to put all of your heart and soul into being a musician.

[bright piano music] [applause]