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Announcing the 2026 Young Musicians Concert Finalists!

March 27, 2026
Ava Fontus on Marimba, Senior at Ridgewood High School. Credit: Mike Bambuch

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is pleased to announce the finalists for our 2026 Young Musicians Concert, a highly competitive and prestigious opportunity for outstanding 7th–12th grade chamber ensembles from across the New York tri-state area.  

Each year, ensembles are selected from a competitive pool of applicants to participate in a series of live, adjudicated semi-final regional concerts, with the finalists advancing to perform at Lincoln Center in May. This year’s finalists represent ensembles from 25 schools across New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and Hudson Valley/Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Each finalist ensemble will receive a one-hour personalized coaching session at Lincoln Center with a CMS artist, and an invitation to an exclusive open rehearsal with the world-renowned Shanghai Quartet.  

Finalist ensembles will then perform in one of two culminating Young Musicians Concerts at Lincoln Center:

“For 42 years, this program has complemented and supported the outstanding music education offered in schools across our region,” said Emily Harper, Director of Education and Community Engagement at CMS. “There’s a level of small-group attention that students could not practically receive in a large band or orchestra class. Chamber music teaches students to listen, lead, and take responsibility within an ensemble, and we are proud to elevate these groups within their own communities and here at Lincoln Center.”

The Young Musicians Concert has nurtured hundreds of musicians throughout the years, including performers such as cellist Nicholas Canellakis, who performed in Young Musicians Concerts in 1999 and 2000. Canellakis has since become a familiar face at CMS, through the Bowers Program—a three-season residency for exceptional early career musicians—and now as a frequent performer with CMS locally in New York City and across the world on tour. He has also served as a coach for Young Musicians Concert finalist ensembles. 

“I always enjoy seeing the next generations of young, ambitious musicians. Being a part of that legacy and seeing it continue is always very exciting for me,” said Canellakis, who recalled the impact the Young Musicians Concert had on his own journey. “Playing on the Alice Tully Hall stage in high school was an incredible experience. I particularly remember my first year—I was a freshman, playing the Barber String Quartet, and had coached with [violinist] Danny Phillips. He was the first renowned artist that I had ever really worked with. In some ways I remember the coaching more than the performance! It was very impactful as a first connection to the larger professional music world. So CMS was on my mind from a young age, and certainly it stayed in the back of my mind as I evolved my love of chamber music and made it the foundational part of my career.”

Explore this year’s talented ensembles below and then be sure to see many of them perform live May 7, 2026, at Alice Tully Hall, in a concert that is free and open to the public. To learn more about the Young Musicians Concert program, including eligibility requirements, click here.

2026 Young Musicians Concert Finalists  

Bronxville High School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Quintet
  • Students: Abigail Fong, Alexander Cebenoyan, violin; Ava Toolan, viola; Charlotte Davis, cello; Sarah Nazari, piano
  • Piece: Robert Schumann – Quintet in E-flat major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 44

Celia Cruz High School of Music 10X442  

  • Ensemble Type: String Quartet
  • Students: Michael Danquah, Moises Zepeda, violin; Victoria Flores Martinez, viola; Charlie Lopez, cello
  • Piece: Ludwig van Beethoven – Quartet in F major for Strings, Op. 18, No. 1

Edward R. Murrow High School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Trio
  • Students: Isabel Bolas, flute; Lucien Conan, piano; Conrad Tofte, cello
  • Piece: Antonio Vivaldi – Sonata in C minor, RV 53 

Great Neck South Middle School  

  • Ensemble Type: Duo
  • Students: Maobi Wu, Jayden Liu, piano
  • Piece: Claude Debussy – Petite Suite for Piano, Four Hands

Hicksville High School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Trio
  • Students: Aerie Lim, violin; Kaylee Lin, cello; Owen Chan, piano
  • Piece: Sheridan Seyfried – Trio in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello  

Hunter College High School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Trio
  • Students: Hannah Kim, violin; Gina Kim, cello; Dazhen Lu, piano
  • Piece: Claude Debussy – Trio in G major for Piano, Violin, and Cello

John L. Miller Great Neck North High School  

  • Ensemble Type: Vocal Quartet
  • Students: Taj Malhotra, piano; Lana Goldsmith, soprano; Nina Bikhman, mezzo soprano; Bo-Chou (Stanley) Tsai, tenor; Harrison Albin, baritone
  • Piece: Johannes Brahms – “Sehnsucht” for Vocal Quartet and Piano, Op. 112, No. 1

Riverdale Country School 

  • Ensemble Type: Duo
  • Students: Adelaide Ang, piano; Elizabeth Shen, cello
  • Piece: Claude Debussy – Sonata for Cello and Piano

Rye Country Day School  

  • Ensemble Type: Duo
  • Students: Emma Maini, violin; Alexander Tartaglia, piano
  • Piece: Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata in F major for Violin and Piano, Op. 24, “Spring”

Scarsdale High School  

  • Ensemble Type: String Quartet
  • Students: Annika Yogaratnam, violin; Audrey Li, Alexander Makarov, viola; Meera Chari, cello; Lyris Shen, horn
  • Piece: WA Mozart – Quintet in E-flat major for Horn and Strings, K. 407

Special Music School High School 

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Trio
  • Students: Jacky Chuang, violin; Yoonsuh Lee, cello; Mayu Kanai, piano
  • Piece: Robert Schumann – Trio No. 3 in G minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 110

Tenafly Middle School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Quartet
  • Students: Adelina Lee, violin; Nicole Pae, viola; Christopher Pae, cello; Steven, Zhu, piano
  • Piece: Felix Mendelssohn – Quartet in B minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 3

The Brearley School  

  • Ensemble Type: Harp Quartet
  • Students: Natalie Joo, harp; Isabella Lee, Elizabeth "Milly" Birch, violin; Agnes Bettany, cello
  • Piece: Bernard Fattschek – Quartet in G major, Op. 1

Bergen County Academies  

  • Ensemble Type: Clarinet Quintet
  • Students: Claire Kim, cello; Olivia Kim, viola; Brian Gao, Anna Lee, violin; Taeho Kim, clarinet
  • Piece: Johannes Brahms – Quintet in B minor for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 115

Dwight-Englewood School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Trio
  • Students: Leah Gavilan, piano; Ian Gavilan, viola; William Kang, clarinet
  • Piece: Max Bruch – Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 83

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Trio
  • Students: Perry Zou, piano; Kaitlyn Xie, violin; Andraya Levy-Schwartz, cello
  • Piece: Maurice Ravel – Trio in A minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello

Herricks High School  

  • Ensemble Type: String Quintet
  • Students: Nathan Tan, Julia Lam, violin; Grace Kang, viola; Ethan Yip, cello; Kyle Yung, double bass
  • Piece: Xavier Foley – Good Times for Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Double Bass

Newark Academy  

  • Ensemble Type: Duo
  • Students: Melody Jian, violin; Joanna Luo, piano
  • Piece: Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata in A minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 23

Phillips Academy  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Trio
  • Students: Shixun (Wooba) Song, piano; Jessica Jeon, violin; Philip Jeong, cello
  • Piece: Rebecca Helferich Clarke – Trio in E-flat minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello

Ridgewood High School 

  • Ensemble Type: Percussion Quartet
  • Students: Ava Fontus, marimba; Will Burton, Anderson Joseph, Jason Lee, percussion
  • Piece: Minoru Miki – Marimba Spiritual for Marimba and Percussion

Roslyn High School (Roslyn UFSD)  

  • Ensemble Type: String Quartet
  • Students: Elizabeth Lee, Jihoon Shin, violin; Aaron Ye, viola; Nicholas Chao, cello
  • Piece: Ludwig van Beethoven – Quartet in C minor for Strings, Op. 18, No. 4

South Woods Middle School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Four Hands
  • Students: Matthew Gu, Milo Gu, piano
  • Piece: Maurice Ravel – Mother Goose Suite for Piano, Four Hands

Tenafly High School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Quintet
  • Students: Hamin Kim, cello; Kai Kobori-Huang, piano; Sua Park, Suhyun Park, violin; Heeyoon Chang, viola
  • Piece: Ernő Dohnányi – Quintet No. 1 in C minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 1

The Hotchkiss School  

  • Ensemble Type: Wind Trio
  • Students: Isabella Deng, flute; Yaoyao Yuan, oboe; Crystal Pang, piano
  • Piece: Jules Demersseman, Felix Charles Berthelemy – Fantasy on Themes from William Tell for Flute, Oboe, and Piano

William A. Shine Great Neck South High School  

  • Ensemble Type: Piano Trio
  • Students: Michael Sun, clarinet; Ashley Zheng, viola; Daniel Liu, piano
  • Piece: Max Bruch – Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 83