Allen Feng
A little bit of boredom started Allen Feng on his musical journey.
“I always liked to press random keys on our electric piano when I was little, so when I got tired of waiting in the music studio every week for my brother’s guitar lessons to finish, I started taking piano lessons next door in the same studio to pass time. I came to enjoy the sounds of the music and proceeded to refine my technique and showmanship. To put these skills to the test, I decided to compete, and I still do so today,” he says.
He started studying piano when he was 8 and added percussion in the sixth grade. He has placed in the top three of most the competitions he entered in both instruments. He was first chair percussionist in All-State/All-East band auditions, third place in the TMTA piano solo, first place in the Grand Virtuoso piano solo competition (junior high level) and first place in both Division II and IV and third place in Division III of the Bristol Music Club Scholarship Competition.
Allen studies piano with Jerilyn Paolini and percussion with Dr. Matthew Geiger at East Tennessee State University.
“My school’s percussion teacher, Mr. Daniel McGuire, got me into percussion and has brought the school’s program international acclaim. These amazing and distinguished teachers have always held me to a high standard and pushed me to do better than I thought I could. They taught me much more beyond musicianship, and they have always been there when I needed them. As Mr. McGuire once said, ‘If you think you can do better, then you should do better.’
“At the beginning, I just had fun making different sounds, but as I grew, I saw how music connects people and promotes collaboration. I have taken inspiration from the people I met at clinics, music festivals and competitions, whether it was their practice habits or their attitude towards music, with us all becoming friends in the process. I have also had the privilege of learning from the enthusiastic music faculty from various universities.
“Music can convey emotions more effectively and more clearly than they can be expressed in words, making it a powerful medium to express oneself. I hope to deliver a unique experience that absorbs people into the music and to inspire others to get involved in music,” he says.
He plans to focus on computer science in the future because he enjoys analytical problem-solving. Allen also plans to minor in music performance, because music has become such a part of his life.
Outside of music, he likes to play chess, do programming (he runs the school’s coding club) and has a YouTube channel where he uploads gaming videos.
Allen is the 16-year-old son of Minxia Lu and Wenlai Feng. He was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and attends Science Hill High School, Johnson City, Tennessee.
