Cranberry Township girl, 12, shines playing piano
CRANBERRY TWP — Stephanie Petinaux started playing piano when she was 6 and took to it almost immediately.
“I really get into the music; it relaxes me, makes me calm,” she said.
When she discovered she enjoyed playing music, she decided to continue taking lessons with a private teacher and enter youth competitions.
Stephanie is only 12, but she’s already claiming her place as a top young musician in Western Pennsylvania.
Petinaux, who is in seventh grade at St. Kilian’s Parish School and lives in Cranberry Township, was recently one of four soloists selected to perform at a concert in Lincoln Hall in Foxburg, Clarion County.
She was selected as a “Rising Star” by the Pittsburgh Concert Society after auditioning in January.
The culmination of that honor was a 25-minute performance Sept. 21 during which she performed pieces by Joseph Haydn, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Frederick Chopin and Claude Debussy. She was also awarded a $500 scholarship.
The concert society performance is just the latest on her list of awards and accomplishments.
She has won awards in the Duquesne Young Artist National Competition as a soloist in 2012 and 2013. She won awards for a piano duet from the Pittsburgh Piano Teachers Association in 2012 and 2014.
She has received a Young Artist honor from the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania for four consecutive years and has twice performed on WQED FM in its Musical Kids contest.
She also has played the violin for the past several years and has performed either violin or piano in recitals, at retirement homes and at St. Alphonsus Church in Wexford.
She practices about one and a half hours on weekdays and two hours on the weekend.
She said she gets nervous to perform, but enjoys playing and making people happy with music.
“I was nervous at first, but it’s really fun to play in front of people,” she said of her recent performance in Foxburg.
Stephanie was first taught by her mother and now takes lessons once a week from teacher Marina Lupinacci, who has seen her progress as a musician.
“Stephanie started piano with me as a very shy little girl. She always followed my instructions very accurately and advanced rapidly,” Lupinacci said.
Lupinacci said her student will do well, whether it is music or something else.
“I foresee a great future for Stephanie in any endeavor she will choose.”
Stephanie said she would like to continue playing and seek a career in music, though at 12 it is still too early to really know what the future holds.
Stephanie’s mother, Kazumi Petinaux, said she is glad Stephanie has been successful and also has found an interest that she is passionate about.
Playing an instrument and being dedicated, like Stephanie is, has positive effects on the development and education of children, she said.
“No matter what she does in the future, it’s good to keep pursuing a skill. With piano you have to use your brain and have discipline to accomplish playing a new piece,” Kazumi Petinaux said.
