Support Qden Blaauw on his musical journey

Qden Blaauw (13 years old) is a piano prodigy from Cape Town. He is one of 10 pianists worldwide to have been invited to Saarlouis in Germany (23 - 30 March) to attend masterclasses under the guidance of Prof Wolfram Schmidt-Leonardy. He will also receive master classes from Prof, Rudolf Meister, Dean of the University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim and who is a luminary in German music. During his stay in Germany, Qden will also perform in four concerts including a concerto with a leading German orchestra. The proceeds of this concert will go to a UNICEF project - Schools for Africa. He will once again make history by being the first African to be invited to this prestigious event.

Although the masterclasses are free, Qden needs funding to cover his (and one adult's) travelling, accommodation and meals.

You can help this talented young boy to realize his dream of becoming a world famous pianist by donating money to cover some of the costs mentioned above.

To see some of Qden's performances, please visit his Youtube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=qden+blaauw

Below please find a short biography of Qden Blaauw

Qden started playing piano 5 years ago and showed an interest in classical music from an early age. Under the guidance of Shane Goodall, he has won many awards over the past three years.

In 2015 (at the age of 10), he performed as a soloist with the Hugo Lambrechts Symphony Orchestra at the national Concerto Festival.

In 2016, he was a first prize winner for the Great Composers International Competition. He was a participant and performed at the Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium. At the Stellenbosch Eisteddfod he won seven trophies, including the JB Collin Shield for the most promising piano contestant. He won first prize in the Little Maestros and Johan Vos music competitions (2016).

At the 2016 SAMRO Hubert van der Spuy National Music Competition he shared the first prize with Leo Gevisser and won the following category prizes: Piano, Best Baroque piece and Best Performance by a student of a SASMT member.

Qden was also one of ten children (and the first from Africa) selected from more than 500 applicants worldwide to attend the prestigious Allianz Music Camp in Warsaw, Poland in November 2016 where he received a master class from acclaimed pianist, Lang Lang. He also received master classes from other international pianists, including internet sensation Valentina Lisitsa, Gloria Campaner, Prof Martina Bauer, Prof Wolfram Schmidt-Leonardy, Motoki Hirai, Nina Schuman, Luis Magalhaes, Liezl-Maret Jacobs and Jan Hugo.

In 2017 Qden performed in a total of six concertos including performances with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, The Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, The Free State Symphony Orchestra and the Hugo Lambrechts Symphony Orchestra. Other solo performances include piano recitals for the Wagner Society of South Africa, a performance at the gala dinner at the International Insurance Society at the Sun City Superbowl and he also had the opportunity to perform with Curt Darren at the Welgemoed Just for Gents evening.

Locally he has been featured on television including Espresso, Kwela, eCNA, SABC2 and SABC3 news as well as local newspapers. Internationally he was interviewed on Polish television.

Qden loves composing classical music and also plays the violin. He performed one of his compositions at the Oude Libertas Amphitheatre in March 2017. He also enjoys playing cricket, building electric circuits and flying around the world on his flight simulator.