ROCKINGHAM — Local pianist, John Patrick Hutchinson Jr., has once again brought home the first-place trophy in the Junior Division of the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Competition.
Hutchinson competed against a talented field of 10 other pianists. In a contest where pianists must choose repertoire composed prior to 1939, Hutchinson performed his own arrangements of “The Favorite” by Scott Joplin and “California Here I Come” by Bud DeSylva, Joseph Meyer and Al Jolson.
The panel of judges consisted of nationally noted pianists Richard Dowling, Sue Keller and Paul Orsi.
The World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing contest dates to 1975. It is hosted annually at the University of Mississippi, located in the beautiful town of Oxford.
Hutchinson also won the Junior Division of the World Championship in 2024.
Click here to read about the 2023 competition.
Hutchinson, aged 16, began studying piano 10 years ago. For the past three years, he has studied with Dr. Annie Jeng, head of the piano faculty at UNC-Greensboro.
Since the fall of 2023, he has served as organist and pianist for First Methodist Church, Bennettsville.
During his 10-year career as a pianist, Hutchinson has performed in: Carnegie Hall; the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery; Bonn, Germany; and St. Petersburg, Russia. He will play in Salzburg, Austria, this summer.
Over the past several summers, he has studied at a number of music camps and festivals, including the Julliard Summer Performing Arts Program, the Interlochen Arts Camp, and the Palmetto International Piano Festival. This summer he will attended the prestigious Tanglewood Young Artists Program sponsored by Boston University.
