- My name is Kira Nickerson.

I play the piano, and I'm a freshman at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut.

(piano music) The piece I played today was the third movement of Beethoven's Sonata Number 17, "The Tempest".

(piano music) For about two years, I've been working on the full sonata.

So I started with the first movement, and for the last maybe eight months, I've been working on this third movement and I thought this would be an exciting piece to play, and it would show a variety of skills on the piano.

(playful piano music) I think Beethoven in general is so fun to play because he's so passionate and emotional that when I play this piece I go through such to a wide range of emotions.

Like I feel anger in some parts, there are parts that express fear also parts with joy and exhilaration.

So once I finish playing the piece you feel like you do go through a tempest and a storm.

(intense piano music) It switches dynamics very quickly.

In some sections, it switches dynamics every measure even and it also has a lot of emotional contrast.

So I also had to be flexible in the sense that I was willing to shift characters and tell a new story very quickly.

(piano music) I was interested in the piano at a young age because my mother always played.

So I kind of grew up hearing her play and that sparked an interest in music and I find the piano in particular very interesting because it's a solo instrument.

So you kind of have to imagine yourself as an orchestra and you're sort of playing all instruments.

You get to experiment with many different textures and styles and kind of voices all within the same instrument which I think is a really interesting experience.

(calm piano music) My teacher Susanne Son, who is the director of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, preparatory division, nominated me.

And she's meant so much to me, for many reasons.

She's made me think about music and playing music less as a student and more as an artist and performer and she's made me think about how to tell a story with the music and convey the emotions that the composer wanted in his or her piece.

(playful piano music) I'd really like to thank my family, especially my mother for making it possible for me to play the music by driving me to lessons, being so supportive of me, making sure I practice, pushing me through the moments that have been hard.

Like all my family members have just been so supportive of me and I would not be here without them.

(calm piano music) I definitely want music to be a part of my life for the rest of my life.

I mean, I'm not, I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do with my life or in college, but I think I'd definitely like to either double major or minor in music and possibly have a career as a professional musician whether that be as a performing artist or a conductor or, but I think music will definitely be a part of my life.

(playful piano music)