Leonardo Dinner (Leo) is 11 years old and in the fifth grade. He has loved Bach since he began lessons at age 6. When he first listened to Bach d minor Concerto, he told his teacher that this would be one of his “heart pieces”— one which would stay in his heart forever.  Which was lucky, as right after he won the MTAC Concerto competition in 2020, a worldwide pandemic put a pause to public performances. He has had to wait 2 years to perform this piece with a symphony, and he is even more excited now than before.

During his wait, Leo won numerous competitions, such as the Music Teachers National Association CAPMT Honors State Competition, Complete Works category at the Southwestern Youth Music Festival, Best performance of Chopin and Bach (Great Composers), and the American Protege International Piano and Strings Competition.  He has taken masterclasses from John Perry, Daniel Pollack, Daniel Shapiro, and Josh Wright.

In addition to piano performance, Leo enjoys improvising and composing music. He has written ballades, sonatas, a string quartet, and a wind quintet with the Inception Orchestra. His music has been played by notable people such as Karen Elaine, Maksim Velichkin and Javier Oviedo, and he is working with conductor Charles Fernandez on studio recordings of his string quartet and wind quintet.

With the support of his dedicated teacher, Rita Hovanesian, Leo matured in his ability to hear the complex fugal (multi-voiced) expression of Bach’s works and hopes to continue to find more understanding in this heart Concerto and in all music he plays.