The Diamond Bar Community Foundation’s Community Spotlight on the Arts on  Sunday afternoon, March 28,  at the Clark Theater at Mt. SAC featured Diamond Ranch High School (Pomona Unified School District) and Diamond Bar High School.  Diamond Bar High School’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with DBHS student Austin Chen on piano was unforgettable.    Austin has just returned from Germany where he captured the Grand Prize at the Grotrian Steinweg International Piano Competition.  Winning the competition allowed him to  make his European debut performing at Grobes Haus, Staatstheater Braunschweig, and was featured in the Global Chinese Times, the International Times, and Braunschweiger Zeitung.  Austin performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, New York and will make his Los Angeles premiere  at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in June, 2010, playing this same piece with the Diamond Bar High School Symphony Orchestra under the direction of DBHS Orchestra Director Steve Acciani.  

NOTE: At this time, Austin is a sophomore in the Independent Study Program at the Ron Hockwalt Academies.   The flexibility of Independent Study allows Austin to compete and perform internationally.