Peter Parra, piano

Meet Peter

Peter appears on Show 474.

Peter Parra (piano), 15, is a sophomore at Mountain View High School in California and a piano major at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College, where he studies with Professor Corey McVicar. He is a 2022–24 Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and a 2025–26 scholarship recipient of the US Chopin Foundation.

Peter has performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia. His 2023 Elm Court Concert was broadcast by WQED Pittsburgh, and in 2025 he was featured in the Cleveland Institute of Music “Extravaganza” concert (covered by Arts Air), performed in Music@Menlo’s Koret Young Performers Concerts, and appeared at Musikfestspiele Saar in Germany. That same year, he gave a live performance and interview on Interlochen Public Radio’s Intermezzo and performed on the Great Wall of China, where he was named a 2025–26 Culture Ambassador of the Great Wall.

He has been awarded full scholarships to prestigious festivals including the Aspen Music Festival (2024, 2025), Music@Menlo Young Performers Program (2025), Frost Chopin Academy (2024), and Cleveland Piano Institute (2023). He has also worked with renowned musicians in masterclasses, including Yoheved Kaplinsky, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Steven Spooner, Kevin Kenner, Anton Nel, Alexander Kobrin, Ning An, and Armen Babakhanyan.

Beginning piano at age four, Peter has earned First Prize at the CAPMT State Final, US Open Music Competition, Elevato International, and Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition, as well as Second Prize at the Chicago International, Music International Grand Prix, ENKOR, KAMSA, and Burlingame BMC Competitions. Additional top awards include MTNA California, Aloha International, Ross McKee Foundation, Pacific Music Society, and LA International Liszt Competitions.

Passionate about using music to inspire and heal, Peter has performed regularly at the Family House of San Francisco for children receiving treatment at UCSF Children’s Hospital. In 2025, he founded and directs the CA Mountain View–Los Altos Region of the Back to Bach Project, bringing concerts and workshops to his community.

Outside of piano, Peter celebrates his Mexican heritage through Mariachi music. He is also a nationally top-ranked competitive junior ballroom dancer, a math and science enthusiast, and fluent in Chinese.