Eric Tran DMA’20 Piano Performance and his piano duo Happy Dog Duo won first prize at the Anton Garcia Abril International Chamber Music Competition in Spain. Happy Dog Duo, which consists of Tran and pianist Nathan Cheung, were in a pre-selected field of 29 chamber groups from all over Europe.

The prize includes €12,000 award and the opportunity to play at various festivals, such as the Huéscar Classical Music Festival, the Hispania Música-Concerto Málaga Foundation, or the Panticosa International Festival, among others.

Happy Dog Duo has been performing piano 4-hands and 2 piano repertoire together for two decades. They have won 13 gold medals in piano duo/4-hands events at the US Open Music Competition.

They  have also won the first prize and Abild American Music Award at the Ellis Duo-Piano Competition, hosted by the National Federation of Music Clubs; first prize at the MTNA-Stecher and Horowitz Two Piano Competition; and first prize at the Ohio International Duet and Duo Piano Competition. They are among the few piano duos who have performed on the only Pleyel Double Grand piano in the Western Hemisphere. Performances with orchestra include the Stanford Symphony Orchestra, Diablo Symphony Orchestra, Vallejo Symphony, and the Pittsburg Piano Festival Orchestra.

Their performances have taken them across Europe, Asia, and 20 US states, and they have appeared on Aspen Public Radio, WQXR, and NPR. Recent invitations include guest artist performances at Stanford University, the Chautauqua Institution, and the National Federation of Music Clubs Convention.

Tran graduated from Stanford University and received his MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He earned his DMA with Professor Christopher Taylor at the Mead Witter School of Music, where he also served as lecturer.