Sophomore Spencer Cha recently won the Southwest division of the Music Teachers National Association’s Composition Competition and will head to Chicago in March as a national finalist. Cha, who has studied piano for more than 12 years and has studied composition for three years, also will perform with the Golden State Youth Orchestra in May.

Cha also has won numerous piano competitions, including the California Association of Professional Music Teachers State Honors Competition, the San Francisco Chopin Competition for Young Pianists and the Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition, in addition to being a soloist with the Palo Alto Philharmonic and performing at Carnegie Hall. He currently performs with the upper school orchestra as an oboist.