2025 Radda Rise International Piano Competition
Benjamin LeSuer
Split 3rd Prize
•Category 2
Benjamin LeSuer, a 12-year-old pianist and multi-instrumentalist from McKinney, Texas, has emerged as a remarkable young talent in classical music. He began studying piano at the age of four and has since expanded his musical abilities to include violin, which he has studied for three years, and drums for the past two.
Under the mentorship of acclaimed piano instructor Dr. Alex McDonald, Benjamin has earned numerous awards and accolades. At the 2024 Dallas Symphonic Festival, he won First Place in the Elementary II Piano Concerto Division (ages up to 15) for his performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major. He also took First Place at the North Texas Young Artist Piano Competition, where he performed Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 10 No. 1 (finale) and Liszt’s Au bord d’une source.
One of his most challenging accomplishments to date was earning the Junior Performance Alternate position in the 2025 Texas MTNA Junior Piano Division (ages 11–14), a statewide competition in which the Alternate title represents second place in the entire state.
Benjamin has also achieved success internationally. He was a winner in both the Montecito International Music Young Artist Competition and the Beethoven International Young Musician Competition. As a result of his win at Montecito, he was invited to perform at the Winners Showcase at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall in Los Angeles, California. He was also awarded a full scholarship to attend the Montecito International Summer Music Festival at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
In addition to his work as a pianist, Benjamin is a member of the Dallas Symphony Youth Choir, where he was the youngest performer selected to sing with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Meyerson Symphony Center. He also serves as the accompanist for his church’s youth choir and enjoys composing his own music.
Outside of music, Benjamin is an avid athlete. He plays basketball and competes with the Lakeside swim team. Looking ahead, he hopes to pursue a professional career in music and has taken a major step toward that goal by earning acceptance into the prestigious Juilliard Pre-College program as a piano major.