Performer Bio - Connor Mahon (pronounced MAY-in)
Connor Mahon was born with an affinity for music. He began piano lessons at age four and was composing his own pieces by age 6. He began playing cello at age 8. Now aged 13, his compositions and performances garner provincial and national recognition. In 2022, one of his compositions won first place in the ORMTA provincial competition, and went on to win 2nd place at the national level. In 2023, Connor was the Audience Choice Prize winner in piano in the OMNI competition and the Sacora Trio (for which he is the pianist) won 1st place for advanced chamber music at OYMI Toronto.
Already this year, he has placed first in composition at the Toronto Kiwanis Festival and was selected as a winner of the Concerto Competition at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Phil & Eli Taylor Academy for Young Artists. His performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 featured an original cadenza he composed himself. Connor studies piano in Toronto at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists in the studio of Michael Berkovsky. He also studies piano with Olga Zeidel at the Guelph School of Music, and with Anya Alexeyev at Wilfrid Laurier University. He studies cello with Marlena Tureski in Guelph and composition with Eugene Astapov at the Taylor Academy. Growing up in the intensely musical city of Guelph, he has become a regular contributor to fundraising performances and community programs. His 2024 fundraising concert for the Children’s Foundation of Guelph & Wellington raised over $3,400 for underprivileged kids to access music lessons and other extracurriculars. When he’s not engaged in his music, Connor loves being outdoors and caring for the flora and fauna on his family’s farm.