WESTFIELD — Collin Parker-Szekely will be performing at the Patterson Library in Westfield on Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 5:30 p.m.

Parker-Szekely, 19, of Abington, Pa., continues to be involved in a range of musical activities, primarily through his studies in both piano (primary) and cello (secondary). He will begin his Bachelor’s degree in piano performance at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto in the fall. He has studied piano with concert pianist and Curtis Institute of Music faculty Michelle Cann and takes private cello lessons with Thomas Kraines (Daedalus Quartet) through the Settlement Music School, where he has also been a multi-year recipient of the William B. McLaughlin III Scholarship.

Parker-Szekely has performed on piano for the International Crescendo, Kiszely, and Dorothy Sutton festivals and competitions, as well as the Charleston Piano Competition, receiving top honors. In 2019, he was given a monetary award and invitation to participate in an international tour as a result of his 2020 participation in the Crescendo festival. He has also attended the Interlochen (2022), Tanglewood Institute (2023), Vivace (2023), and Brevard (2025) summer music programs.

He won the overall concerto competition for the Summer 2021 Philadelphia International Music Festival (PIMF), after which he performed at the Spring Winners’ Circle Concert featuring members of the Philadelphia Orchestra and other PIMF concerto competition finalists. As one of the winners of the Menges Scholarship competition, Collin performed McDowell’s Piano Concerto #2 with the Ambler Symphony (PA) in Spring 2022.

In June 2022, Parker-Szekely was a featured soloist for the “Bach and Beyond” Music Festival in western New York, performing Mozart’s Concerto No. 12, K. 414, A Major (Collin was also awarded a scholarship for his participation in “Bach and Beyond”). Collin also performed the same Mozart concerto, as well as a full program of pieces by Beethoven, Chopin, and Schumann, as one of only five finalists selected for the annual MostArts Festival and Young Pianist Competition.

Since 2021, Parker-Szekely has performed with a piano trio (piano, violin, cello), coached by Mitchell Newman (formerly with the LA Philharmonic), as part of the Advanced Study program at Settlement Music School. The trio were semi-finalists for the prestigious Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (South Bend, IN) in 2024 and 2025, and finalists for the Coltman Chamber Music Competition (Austin, TX) in 2024. Collin also participated in the Temple University Music Preparatory Division’s Center for Gifted Musicians program as part of the top-tier Youth Chamber Orchestra and various chamber ensembles.

In addition to the piano and cello, Parker-Szekely enjoys many different genres of music, follows sports, and has interests in history, philosophy, and social justice.

He is the son of Courtney Parker and Michael Szekely and the grandson of Zsolt Szekely and Marcia and James Merrins.