My goal is to always continue to grow, both as a pianist and a musician. To that end, the competitions and programs sponsored by VCU for high school students offer the perfect venue for the young musician like myself to work on strengths and weaknesses, as we all work in the development of our craft.

I am mostly honored that participation in the Piano Competition offered me the opportunity to meet so many of our local jazz talents—and more importantly, that they have offered me support in my craft, encouragement in the form of positive feedback, and the opportunity to join them in performances.

The best part about participating in the Competition is that it never felt like such. The jazz community is a community that embraces its youths’ desire to learn by giving us role models to emulate. So I would like to thank Professor García and the VCU Jazz Program for sponsoring these programs that support the jazz artists of tomorrow.

—Gianni Hobbs