Clayton Stephenson, a greatly gifted 17-year-old piano student enrolled in the pre-college division of the Juilliard School of Music.

"By far the best music-making of the evening came from Stephenson, who dispatched Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” Variations with great idiomatic verve and irresistibly jazzy panache. Chen and the orchestra were snappily in sync with the soloist. Keep your ear on this talented young pianist — he’s clearly going places."  

Chicago 

John von Rhein is a Tribune critic.

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Twitter @jvonrhein