Biography
Born in China in 1981, Cameron emigrated to the U.S. at the age of four with his parents. While living in Virginia, at the relatively late age of 12, he convinced his mother to let him take up piano. Progress was quick; his first important teacher, Gary Mullenax, would say, "Cameron learned in six months what typically would take someone six years." Indeed, only after 5 years, he debuted with the Salisbury University Orchestra, performing Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto, returning the following season in Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. The year of his orchestral debut also saw his first major solo recital, a benefit recital for the local police department's anti-drug program. This emphasis on using music as a communicative tool for inspiring and uniting the community would contextualize numerous future performances, leading eventually to a love for teaching.
Cameron's formative years in Virginia saw triumph at numerous competitions in the Washington D.C. area, colloboration with notable local chamber musicians, and generous donation of time to ensembles and soloists whenever an accompanist was needed. Since, he has been featured on the Arts Council of Eastern Shore Concert Series, studied as a scholarship student at the 2001 Aspen Music Festival, and has been heard in the masterclasses of some of most significant musicians of our time, including Andre Watts, the Guarneri String Quartet, Joseph Kalichstein, and Menahem Pressler. Cameron is a prizewinner of the 2002 National Society of Arts and Letters Piano Competition.
Though accepted on scholarship by a number of the major conservatories, Cameron chose instead to seek a liberal arts education at the University of Virginia, where he was a full-scholarship student in the Honors College. Upon graduation in 2004, he moved to southern California to study with Nina Scolnik at UC Irvine. In 2006, he graduated with the Master of Fine Arts in piano performance.
Having taught in various private and group settings the last ten years, Cameron currently maintains an active teaching schedule in southern California. His studio in Los Angeles and Irvine is highly diverse, representing his committment as a teacher to all members of the community with their varied musical interests and background.
