Thannapas Luanpitpong, 14 (Thailand)

Thannapas Luanpitpong (Xinxia), born in Bangkok, Thailand in 2011, is a pianist, young artist, and composer recognized for her artistry, creativity, and stage charisma. She began piano lessons at age three at Yamaha Music School Thailand and started private piano studies with Dr. Pornphan Banternghansa at age four.

At 11, Thannapas was admitted to the Tianjin Juilliard School as a Pre-College piano major under Prof. Andrew Tyson. Currently, at age 14, she is a first-year Bachelor of Music student and Merit-Based Music Scholar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, majoring in piano performance under Prof. Yoshikazu Nagai.

Thannapas has received further inspiration from masterclasses with world-renowned professors and educators such as Prof. Steven Spooner, Prof. Hieyon Choi, Prof. Christopher Harding, Prof. Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Prof. Armen Babakhanian, Prof. Norman Krieger, and others.

She has earned over 30 national and international First Prizes, including the Chicago International Piano Competition (USA), the Artciál Piano Competition (USA), the 6th Steinway Youth Piano Competition (Thailand), the 20th Osaka International Music Competition (Japan), AADGT, and American Protégé, among many others.

In addition to piano, Thannapas is a vocalist and composer. Her original composition, “Mirror,” was selected as one of 15 works from 4,000 submissions by Yamaha students worldwide and was published on the Yamaha Corporation Japan Official YouTube Channel and the Junior Original Concert. She has performed internationally and has contributed to numerous charity concerts benefiting hospitals and refugee relief efforts.

Thannapas continues to explore the intersection of performance, composition, and community outreach, sharing music as both art and medicine.