Miami, Fla. – Fifteen Miami Dade County Public School students took to the Adrienne Arsht Center’s stage April 21 for the grand finals of Piano Slam 2022.

Students were tasked with creating original poetry that was then paired with local artists including classical piano duo The Alonso Brothers, dance-pop act Afrobeta, and star choreographer Gentry George and his Zest Collective dance company.

After thousands of submissions, the 15 semifinalists were selected from nine middle schools and seven high schools from the Miami Dade County Public Schools.

In the end, the award went to four students from two Miami middle schools and one high school earning each student $1,000 in cash.

All the participating semifinalists walked away with an amazing experience and $100 gift cards.

The four students selected as the 2022 Piano Slam winners are as follows:

MIDDLE SCHOOL ENGLISH Rodrigo Marquez from South Miami

Middle School

MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE Esteban Mosquera from Everglades K8 Center

HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH

Amena Hobbs from Miami Norland Senior High School

HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE Nailah Robinson from Miami Norland Senior High School

Winning poem by Rodrigo Marquez, South Miami Middle School:

Stories are Music

My Music, My Home, My Humaness Everyone has a story deep inside their soul. A story to tell, a story to show. I sit next to a piano and close my eyes.

And suddenly music and stories intertwine. Inspiration comes like a cool summer breeze. And a soothing melody enchants my ears.

An acoustic guitar is like a classic main character.

A flute is a songbird, and a trumpet is a sidekick. A harp is a goddess, and an organ is enemy.

And percussions are the footsteps of destiny.

Finally, the piano is a rainbow of magic. When harmony is created, stories are too.