Meet pianists Lara Saldanha and Esther Shin, two of 382 exceptional music students who journeyed to Brevard Music Center this summer to undergo an ambitious schedule of classes, lessons, and rehearsals.

Saldanha, 17, is an Indian-American pianist who lives in Geneva, Switzerland. She currently attends the International School of Geneva, where she is a rising senior completing an International Baccalaureate diploma. How did Saldanha begin her music studies?

"When I was 6 years old and living in Singapore, my mother enrolled my sister and me in piano lessons. But it wasn't until later in Cin...