Natnaree Suwanpotipra, also known as Belle, is a native of Thailand. She started her first music lessons at the age of four and studied piano with Assist. Prof. Dr. Eri Nakagawa before attending the University of North Texas in 2012. She won many first prizes from Thailand’s national music competitions including piano solos, piano four-hands, and electrone ensembles in the Yamaha Thailand Music Festivals from 2003-2008. In 2008, she received the special prize award from the Bangkok Chopin Piano Competition and a gold medal from the Ministry of Education. She later won the Silpakorn Summer Music School Piano Competition and performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.1 under Maestro Darell Ang and Concert Master Leo Phillips in 2009. In 2010, she won the first prize gold medal from the Settrade Youth Music Competition and later that year performed Grieg’s Piano Concerto under Maestro Terje Mikkelsen with the Southeast Asia Youth Orchestra (SAYOWE). Suwanpotipra received a full music scholarship to study at the Harrow International School from 2010-2012 and became a soloist for school’s orchestra concert. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security awarded her the 2011 Outstanding Youth of Thailand under the category “Arts and Culture”. Earlier in 2012, she won first place in Thailand’s Steinway Piano Concerto Competition and performed Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto with the Bangkok Charity Orchestra.
Since she started her education in the United States, she was chosen as a second place winner of the 2013 American Protégé International Competition of Romantic Music and performed in Carnegie Hall, New York City the following year. In 2014, she was the youngest contestant who passed into the semi-final round of the Dallas Chamber Symphony International Piano Competition and the Young Texas Artists Music Competition. Suwanpotipra also has given solo and chamber performances and is part of the Piano Quintet 18 and Subito Trio over the past two summers in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai Thailand. This summer, she attended the Schlern International Music Festival in Völs am Schlern, Italy.
Suwanpotipra has taken masterclasses with many international pianists including Anthony Peebles, Adolovni Acosta, Matthias Fuchs, Joanne Polk, and Solomon Mikowsky.
She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in piano performance studying under Gustavo Romero at the University of North Texas with many scholarships. Suwanpotipra was one of the five piano finalists in UNT College of Music’s concerto competition in both years since she started attending the school and was the college of music’s ambassador as well.
Suwanpotipra also plays the flute and held chairs in the Harrow School Orchestra and the Bangkok Charity Orchestra.