John Konopka, 11 year old resident of Hudson placed third in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Composition Competition with his composition Two Pieces for Solo Piano after winning 1st place in the state of Ohio and 1st place in the Eastern Regional division. An accomplished composer, he was a first place winner of the Akron Children's Concert Society Scholastic Composer's Competition in 2006 and 2008, and was a finalist in the 2009 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)Music Composition Competition. He was invited to perform his compositions as soloist in five Akron Symphony Orchestra concerts in 2008. He is currently a piano student of Sean Schulze at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). As a trumpet player, John was accepted into the trumpet studio of Michael Miller, a member of the Cleveland Orchestra. From a musical family, his father (Stanley)is a violist in the Cleveland Orchestra, his mother (Kathy)taught cello at the CIM and Western Reserve Academy, and his sister (Audrey)studies cello, piano, and is also an award winning composer.