Young Livingston Piano Prodigy Earns Big Win At International Competition

Wilson Liu, 12, of Livingston, was the only pianist representing the United States at the prestigious competition.

By Eric Kiefer, Patch Staff

Aug 21, 2026 9:01 AM EDT

Wilson Liu, 12, of Livingston, NJ, performs at the 2026 Cleveland International Piano Competition. (Photo courtesy of the Liu family)

LIVINGSTON, NJ — A young piano prodigy from Livingston recently captured first prize at an international competition – scoring some big bragging rights in the process.

Wilson Liu, 12, of Livingston, turned in a masterful performance at the 2026 Cleveland International Piano Competition, winning first prize and the classical and romantic special prizes.

The competition drew 311 applications from 32 countries, with only 13 young pianists ultimately selected to participate in the two-week competition in Cleveland. Competing in the Rising Star division, Liu was the only pianist representing the United States.

The win came just one month after Liu gave a standout performance at the 2026 Gina Bachauer International Junior & Young Artists Piano Competition in Salt Lake City. Liu was one of five prize winners in the Junior Division and the sole representative of the western hemisphere among them.

These recent victories are just the latest feathers in Liu's cap. Other achievements include:

"Liu won first prize at the 2024 Kaufman Music Center International Youth Piano Competition, and first prize at the 2025 Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition, where he also received three major honors, including the Junior Alexei Sultanov Prize, the Best Mazurka Prize and the Commissioned Work Prize. At age 10, competing as the youngest contestant, he won both the International Young Artist Concerto Competition in Chicago and the Young Artist Concerto Competition in Vancouver."

Beyond competitions, Liu has also performed for national audiences. At the age of 9, he was featured on PBS's "Great Performances: Now Hear This," and performed at The Juilliard School's annual scholarship benefit.

Liu recently completed 6th grade at Mount Pleasant Middle School in Livingston and will begin 7th grade at Heritage Middle School this fall. Alongside his local education, he studies in the Pre-College division of The Juilliard School in New York City.

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