Music Biography

Nathan Kong has been a student of James Tweedie for over 9 years and has won numerous awards and scholarships at various local and national music competitions.

In 2006 he won first prize both at the First Toronto Sinfonietta Concerto Competition and the Canadian Music Competitions (CMC) national finals in Rimouski. In 2008, he won the Silver Tray Competition at the Kiwanis Music Festival, was the first runner-up in the Provincial Finals of the Ontario Music Festival Association and placed first at the CMC national finals in Quebec City. He was invited to perform at the CMC Gala Concert with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra at the Palais Montcalm, Quebec City in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the CMC and the 400th anniversary of the City of Quebec. In 2010, he won second prize at the 3rd Canadian Chopin Competition, which also marked Chopin’s 200th birthday. He was also invited to perform at the Richard Bradshaw Ampitheatre at the Canadian Opera Company (COC) in 2012 after winning first prize at the Canadian Music Competitions the previous year.

In the summer of 2009 and 2010, he attended the Toronto Summer Music Academy and participated in master classes with such prominent pianists as Menahem Pressler, Jon Kimura Parker, Andre Laplante, and Lee Kum Sing and was chosen to perform in the Toronto Summer Music Festival at the “Rising Stars Concert”. Nathan has also performed with the Toronto Sinfonietta Orchestra at the Isabel Bader Theatre, and with the Northumberland Orchestra in Port Hope.