For Maikol Pérez Gómez, a sophomore pianist pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance, this academic year has taken him far beyond the walls of a practice room. In recent months, Maikol has found success at two major piano competitions. His experience reflects both a growing artistic voice and the breadth of opportunity available to students here at the Mary Pappert School of Music (MPSOM).
Most recently, Maikol won Third Prize at the 9th “Jorge Jacinto Cuevas” Yamaha International Competition held in Mérida, Mexico. Forty pianists from 14 countries across Latin America competed in a series of four elimination rounds over an eight-day period. Maikol made it to the final round, which was a live concerto performance with the Yucatán Symphony Orchestra. For a sophomore, success on an international stage like this offers an invaluable glimpse into the realities of a professional performing career.
Earlier in the semester, Maikol earned First Prize in the Collegiate Division of the 2025 Marian Garcia International Piano Competition, which was held at Penn State University. Seventeen competitors from respected music schools and conservatories across the Northeast and Midwest participated. Maikol won a $1,000 award and was invited to appear in pianist Greg Anderson’s recital later that same evening, an opportunity to perform directly alongside an established professional artist.
Faculty guidance is crucial to preparing students not only for competitions like this, but for the musical, professional, and personal demands of a performing musician. At the MPSOM, Maikol studies piano with Dr. Kevin Lee Sun and has benefited from supplementary coachings with Dean David Allen Wehr.
“What I really admire about Maikol as a student are two things: his curiosity and his drive to grow,” said Sun. “So, when I really pushed him harder to go deeper into the meaning of the pieces that he plays, he started reading the actual materials that the pieces are based on. For instance, while we were working on Debussy Preludes together, he actually read the Baudelaire poems and the Hans Christian Andersen tales that inspired Debussy to write these pieces.”
The combination of academic study, close faculty mentorship, and access to high-level performance opportunities defines the student experience at Duquesne. Students are encouraged to pursue ambitious goals early in their studies and are supported as they test their artistry on regional, national, and international stages.
“I found Pittsburgh to be such a beautiful place for my piano students,” Sun continued. “There are so many opportunities for them. Maikol, for instance, has played at weddings, has played at wedding dinners, has played at a fashion show, has played for jazz groups, is currently playing for two different churches. He's found no shortage of opportunities to be engaged, to be making music for other people, serving other people through his talent.”
Maikol’s achievements are a clear example of what students regularly accomplish at the Mary Pappert School of Music. His journey highlights the important truth that this is a place where young musicians are prepared, encouraged, supported, and trusted to pursue every opportunity.
Below is a recording of Maikol performing Johannes Brahms’ Intermezzo in A-flat Major, Op. 76, No. 3, a work that highlights the nuance and musicality that have earned his recent successes.
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Performed by Maikol Pérez GómezJohannes Brahms: Intermezzo in A-flat Major, Op. 76 No. 3 (1879)
