Young Concert Artists' 2024 International Auditions Announces Semi-Finalists

The final auditions will take place live on October 27, 2024 and will be streamed on The Violin Channel

 

Established in 1961, the Young Concert Artists (YCA) Susan Wadsworth International Auditions has since provided emerging artists opportunities to connect with top industry professionals to further their music careers.

The auditions are open to instrumentalists aged 16 to 28 years old, singers 20 to 30 years old, and ensembles with an average age of 30 or less, as of as of October 27, 2024. Based on a preliminary round of live auditions in New York and Los Angeles, and virtual auditions via video submission, 37 artists were selected from a pool of more than 170 applicants to advance to the Semi-Final round:

Piano:

• Derek Wang
• Hoi Leong Cheong (Zach)
• Hyojin Shin
• Jihyung Youn
• Jonathan Mak
• Kiron Tellian
• Saehyun Kim
• Tom Zalmanov
• Yang (Jack) Gao
• Yuval Hen
• Zitong Wang

Violin:

• Elli Choi
• Emmanuel Coppey
• Haram Kim
• Julian Rhee
• Karisa Chiu
• Koshiro Takeuchi
• Leonard Fu
• Rino Yoshimoto

Viola:

• Nicolas Garrigues
• Emad Zolfaghari

Accordion:

• Radu Ratoi

Oboe:

• Jamie Yoojin Lee

Bassoon:

• Jakob Peäske

Flute:

• Blue Shelton
• Rafael Mendez

Saxophone:

• Maria Torres-Melgares

String Quartet:

• Terra String Quartet
• Erinys String Quartet

Piano Trio:

• Paddington Trio
• Trio Azura

Baritone:

• Gregory Feldmann
• Shavon Lloyd

Mezzo-Soprano:

• Ruby Dibble

Soprano:

• Alexandra Hotz
• Maggie Kinabrew
• Shelén Hughes

 

From the Auditions, the YCA adds a new group of winning artists to its roster each year. Winners receive a minimum three-year management contract, high-profile debuts, plus national and international recital and orchestra performance opportunities.

Additionally, winners will benefit from full promotional and marketing services, educational residency experience, and professional development, as well as YCA’s network of industry managers, concert presenters, top conductors, and financial supporters.

Winners must be available to perform concert engagements in North America for a minimum of six weeks (two three-week periods) between September and May of each concert season.

The semi-final round of the auditions will be held October 23-25, 2024 at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City.

The final round of auditions, sponsored by The Linda & Isaac Stern Charitable Foundation, will be held on Sunday, October 27, 2024 at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City — and will be streamed LIVE on The Violin Channel.

A Winners Concert will follow on Monday, October 28, 2024, at New York’s Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum.

Anchored by Young Concert Artists founder Susan Wadsworth and YCA President Daniel Kellogg, the jury is comprised of pianists Inon Barnatan and Angela Cheng, violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, violinists Barry Shiffman and Pamela Frank, flutist Marya Martin, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and conductor and pianist Constantine Orbelian — along with Cristina Rocca, VP of Artistic Planning at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Donald Palumbo, Chorus Master at the Metropolitan Opera; and Abhijit Sengupta, Director of Artistic Planning at Carnegie Hall (finals jury only).

Previous YCA recipients include Pinchas Zukerman, Ida Kavafian, Anne Akiko Meyers, Emanuel Ax, Murray Perahia, plus VC Artists Paul Huang, Ray Chen, Stephen Warts, Zlatomir Fung, Xavier Foley, SooBeen Lee, Risa Hokamura, and Jonathan Swensen.