2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Preliminary Round
Van Cliburn Recital Hall

Shinji Wada, 40
Human resources director
Foster City, California
Japan

Largely self-taught, Shinji Wada learned how to read music himself and began playing piano in elementary school. By 13, he started private lessons, and he continued them after a move to the New York/New Jersey area. At that time, he met his longtime teacher, Seymour Bernstein, who continues to be a source of much inspiration for Mr. Wada. Back in Japan, he finished his bachelor’s degree (Keio University) in economics, and returned to the United States in 2014. A career loyalist to the Sony Corporation, Mr. Wada is a human resources director for Sony Interactive Entertainment (aka PlayStation) in Foster City, California. He views entering this Competition as a means to add balance to his work-heavy life. A father of two, he enjoys traveling to new places throughout the United States with his family in tow.

Program:
SCRIABIN, Poѐme in F-sharp Major, op. 32, no. 1
RACHMANINOV, Étude-Tableau in D Major, op. 39, no. 9