SOUTHPORT — Richard Huffman, a senior at Newtown High School, will perform at Music for Youth’s “Rising Stars” Benefit Concert on Sunday, November 3. The performance will begin at 5 pm at Trinity Church, 651 Pequot Avenue in Southport.

Tickets are $35 for general adult seating, or $50 reserved adult seating; and $20 and $25, respectively, for ages 18 and under.

All proceeds from the concert will go towards the programs of Music for Youth, Inc.

Established in 1995, Music for Youth (MFY) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing classical music alive for young people. MFY sponsors eight free Young Persons’ Concerts annually, performed on Saturdays at Pequot Library in Southport; free master classes with the artists, an annual college scholarship, and a music residency program in the Bridgeport schools.

The November 3 Benefit Concert will feature eight separate acts of talented young musicians from around the state discovered through the programs of Music for Youth, including violin, cello, piano, guitar, voice, and various ensembles.

Richard Huffman, a pianist and a resident of Sandy Hook, will be performing Liszt’s Transcendental Etude (“Wildejagt”).

Mr Huffman began his piano studies at the age of five. He has won numerous prizes, including first prize in the Audrey Thayer Piano Competition in 2013; first prize in the Danbury Symphony Orchestra Student Concerto Competition in 2012, where he appeared as soloist in the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto; second prize in the 2013 High School Scholarship Competition of the Musical Club of Hartford, and third place in the 2012 Renee Fisher Piano Competition.

In 2009 Mr Huffman appeared at Carnegie Hall in the American Fine Arts Festival, and in 2010 he played in the University of Rhode Island’s Piano Extravaganza festival.

In addition to private studies with Margarita Nuller, Mr Huffman has played in master class for renowned pianist Alex Moutouzkine through the Music for Youth program. 

Mr Huffman is a competitive swimmer who has won numerous medals at the state championship level and was recognized as a Scholar Athlete by the Connecticut Swimming Association. Also a talented artist, his work was chosen for the permanent collection of Newtown Middle School. He has also donated his time to numerous charities, performing for Kevin’s Community Center free medical clinic and for local senior centers. He raised $250 for the My Sandy Hook Family Fund through the Musical Club of Hartford.

According to MFY’s website, the November 3 concert will also include performances by the following Fairfield Country residents: violinist Ellie Shapiro; Shoreline Piano Trio, featuring pianist McKenna Mase, violinist Declan Cummiskey and cellist Benjamin Crosby; Suzuki Piano Duo (Joy Xu and Alan Berger); soprano Katherine Waugh; the cello duo 2Cellos; guitarist Jaimin Vyas; and Vivace Strings, featuring students from the Suzuki School of Westport & Orange.

The “engaging program,” also according to the website, will be followed by a reception in the Trinity Church Fellowship Hall.

Tickets for the November 3 benefit can be purchased online at musicforyouth.net, by emailing musicforyouthct@gmail.com, or by calling 203-938-3843.