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Pei Lin Oisín Pu

Gifted PAI student 11year old Pei Lin Oisín Pu, will continue his musical journey as a boarder at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, UK, for gifted children, where they accept just 14 young pianists from all over the world!
It is with much pride, excitement and congratulations that we present Pei Lin Oisin Pu (11yrs) as the subject of our first Student Spotlight at the Piano Academy of Ireland.The original theme of this blog was to highlight Oisin’s wonderful musical achievements in recent times and to document how far he has come since first joining us as a little boy in 2016.
However we now must admit to feeling slightly bittersweet (but tremendously proud!!!) to make the announcement that this young boy is moving on and will begin his studies in September 2021 at the Yehudi Menuhin School. The school, founded and named after one of the greatest violinists of the 20th Century, counts among its illustrious former-pupils, violinist Nigel Kennedy! This new chapter for Oisin is perfectly timed, a culmination of his outstanding achievements at the Piano Academy up to this point.

Oisin started off this year, 2021, by winning the Grand Prix in his age category at the Concours International Piano Val de Travers 2021inNeuchatel,Switzerland. He was also among the 1st Prize winners in his age category at the 10th Piano Talents International Piano Competition in Milan, Italy and won 2nd prize in his age category at the 8th César Franck International Piano Competition 2020 in Belgium. In March he swept the boards at our 11th National Piano Festival winning 1st Prize in the U 12s, U14s and U16s, the Virtuoso Cup for Etude playing AND the Clive Gouldson Award for the ‘Most Promising Junior Pianist’ for the third time. Following this, in May he won 1st Prize at the 28th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Children & Youth in Szfarnia!

When Oisin joined the Piano Academy of Ireland in 2016, under the tutelage of Ukrainian pianist and teacher Lina Kiva, he was nearly 7 years old. It was clear quite early on that Oisin had a special talent. Just six months into his lessons, he participated in the Academy‘s 8th National Piano Festival, and won the 2nd Place in the Under 8 Solo Category. He was also awarded the Clive Gouldson Junior Award for The Most Promising Pianist within the Junior Section that year. These early accomplishments gave Oisin great joy and confidence but they were only the beginning for this promising young musician!  

Spurred on by self assurance, a love of music and the guidance and dedication of his tutor Lina, Oisin achieved excellent results in his piano grade exams gaining a Distinction in his Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) Examinations in Grade 6 piano playing and another Distinction in his ABRSM Grade 5 music theory exam. As a result, he was awarded the Royal Irish Academy of Music High Achiever Award in 2018 and following competitive auditions was invited to play in the RIAM High Achiever Awards Concerts. He then received this award and invitation again in 2020!

Oisin went on in 2019 to win 1st place in two categories at Ireland’s largest and oldest classical music competition the Feis Ceoil.

As a direct result of his extraordinary performances at the 2019 Feis Ceoil 123rd Music Festival, Oisin was invited to give his first ever National Concert Hall solo recital, as the youngest performer, at the Feis Ceoil Gala Concert as one of the ‘Outstanding Junior Winners’. He was just 9 years old!

Oisin has a particular love for the music of Chopin and one of his favourite pieces of music is Chopin’s Ballade No.4 in F minor, Op.52. When he isn’t tickling the ivories he enjoys swimming, playing chess, reading and creative writing. Oisin shares his love of music with his younger sister Saoirse, who also learned to play piano with PAI tutor Lina. Having won a number of competitions, Saoirse then switched to the Harp with renowned harpist Ms. Áine Ní Dhubhghaill at the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

“I still vividly remember that sunny summer’s afternoon in 2016 when Wen Ling and I visited your Academy on Terenure Road East – I can’t believe that was five years ago! Oisin had since been embarking on this wonderful piano journey with wonderful tutor, Lina Kiva, and we could never imagine how far Oisin can go without her, and the brilliant and caring support Directors Rhona and Archie had provided him!”

-Jian Hai Pu, Oisin’s Father

“Back in September 2016, when our 6-year-old son Oisin and 4-year-old daughter Saoirse started taking piano lessons from Lina Kiva, little did we know that not only our children but also ourselves as parents were about to embark on a life-changing journey With her never-ending love, patience, kindness and encouragement, Lina is truly our role model and she has made our children not just better musicians but better humans. With all the joys Lina has brought upon our children through music, all we can say as parents is that we are so fortunate to have had her, and we are forever grateful to her for nurturing and guiding our children through this wonderful and precious journey of melodic childhood.   Lina brought Oisin music but not just techniques, and she also brought him kindness, sincerity, resilience, perseverance, discipline and most importantly – joy and happiness”

–Jian Hai Pu and Wen Ling Pu , Oisin’s parents

It’s very clear that both siblings are benefiting from the wonderful support of parents Jian and Wen Ling. The couple met here in Ireland after having both moved here from China in 1996.

Oisin’s parents and the Piano Academy have reason to be exceptionally proud of him recently with his wonderful achievements in some recent international competitions.

“We couldn’t thank Ms. Rhona Gouldson and Dr. Archie Chen, Directors of the Piano Academy of Ireland (PAI), enough – for so many years of their hard work, and their continuous guidance and support in Oisin’s musical development. So many other wonderful teachers here, past and present, have nurtured Oisin with their knowledge, skills and love: Ms. Tetyana Vlasyuk, Dr. David Coonan, Mr. James Murphy, Ms. Angela Stevens, Ms. Tunde Hodosan-Egan, and Ms. Judit Máté” -Jian Hai Pu and Wen Ling Pu

VIDEO https://youtu.be/b7_gjzsRtY8

While celebrating our 16th year this year, the Piano Academy of Ireland is proud to reflect on the many students we have had over the years graduate onto prestigious University programmes. Oisin is highly unique in that he is by far the youngest graduate to date!! We are immensely proud and delighted for him as he enters the world stage and embarks on this new and exciting stage in his musical career! The nurturing of a special talent is a responsibility and one that we take very seriously indeed at the Piano Academy of Ireland – It has been a real pleasure to provide Oisin with the superior training needed in order for him to take this next important step. We are most thankful to Oisin’s wonderful & exceptionally dedicated tutor Lina Butorina-Kiva, who coached and mentored Oisin throughout the years. While propelling himself forward, we expect he may also enjoy returning to PAI from time to time, to share his growing talent & skill with us! Wishing Oisin & his wonderful family the very best of luck in this new chapter!