Whiz Kid: Becky Brown Wins Piano Contest

Whiz Kid's Name: Rebekah "Becky" Brown

Whiz Kid's Age: 8

Whiz Kid's School: Homeschooled

Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: Winning the Junior A Level district competition of the Minnesota Music Teachers Association Piano Contest. Moving on to the statewide level of competition.

Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: She's driven. She loves the piano. She chose the most difficult piece to play for the contest because she liked it; she didn't realize it was the most difficult, but her "can do" personality kept her at it until she had it mastered. She doesn't only play her 30-minute lessons but plays off and on all day long. Once Becky's mother, Elizabeth, found her at the keyboard playing with her toes. "It didn't sound very good," she said, "But she was doing it."  

 Nominate a by emailing chris.steller@patch.com.