Pataranon performs on Show 440.

Pataranon Boontagarnon (piano), 17, is a senior at Metro Early College High School in Columbus, Ohio. He has recently won prizes in the Ohio Music Teachers Association (OhioMTA) Graves Piano Competition and the Columbus Music Teachers Association Achievement Awards, among others. He attended the Brevard Music Center Piano Institute in 2023, and the Interlochen Arts Camp and Ohio University Summer Music Academy in 2022. Pataranon has appeared in masterclasses with George Li, Arthur Greene, and Jihae Hong-Park, has taken lessons with Douglas Weeks, Robert Satterlee, Christopher Fisher, and Emely Phelps, and is a current student of Timothy Ledger.

Outside of music, Pataranon is an accomplished scholar. His academic achievements include: second place in AMC 10, a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification, Fusion Splicing Workshop Certification from the PAST Foundation, and a Design Challenge prize from his school – which benefited local parks. Pataranon is currently the overall project manager of his school’s robotics competition team, where he previously was in charge of mechanical subassembly design. He also serves as the National Honor Society Vice President at his high school, and regularly volunteers by teaching basic computer-aided design, Arduino, breadboarding, and other STEM concepts in outreach programs and summer camps. This summer, he was selected to attend Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development, where he studied CPU architecture and wrote his own microcode. To unwind, he enjoys playing the ukulele, calligraphy, and boomerang throwing. Listening to and performing music has always brought Pataranon profound joy, inspiring his belief that musicians have a unique ability to connect with others and impact communities in meaningful ways.

Receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award will allow Pataranon to purchase a piano, and will also help cover college audition travel and associated consultation lesson costs.