2024 Young Artist Auditions Winners Announced
Awards Presented by Rochester Philharmonic League
Founded in 1929 to support the education and outreach programs of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), the Rochester Philharmonic League (RPL) has held and funded its annual Young Artist Auditions for high school musicians since 1955. This year’s competition – held at the Eastman School of Music on Sunday, March 17th – saw talented high school students from the Greater Rochester Area compete for a total of $7,250 in cash awards and scholarships. Each award category, the two scholarships, and the Grand Prize are judged by a panel of professional performing musicians and educators who provide valuable written feedback to the young contestants on their auditions.
Forty accomplished high school students from the Greater Rochester Area competed for ten cash awards: $750 for winners and $300 for runners-up, offered for female vocalist, male vocalist, strings, piano and instrumental (woodwind, brass, percussion, harp or guitar). This year, winners and runners-up from four of the award categories then competed for the vocal and instrumental $1,000 college scholarships. A Grand Prize winner – chosen from among the winners in the award categories – has the opportunity for a solo performance with the RPO. All winners will be invited to perform in a free, public recital.
Grand Prize
(an opportunity to perform with the RPO)
Winner: Weijun Wang, Grade 10, Pittsford Sutherland High School, Alla Kuznetzov
Aldridge-Tinker Scholarship for Instrumentalists
($1000 college scholarship)
Winner: Lina Yang, Grade 12, Pittsford Sutherland High School, Sophia Gibbs Kim
Jan DeGaetani Scholarship for Vocalists
($1000 college scholarship)
Winner: Aaron Joseph Blancaflor, Grade 12, Rush Henrietta Senior High School, Nathaniel Watson
Helen and George Greer Instrumental Award
(Winner: $750, Runner-up $300)
Winner: Michael Shi, Clarinet, grade 10, Pittsford Sutherland High School, Andrew Brown
Runner-up: Lina Yang, Flute, Grade 12, Pittsford Sutherland High School, Sophia Gibbs Kim
Honorable Mention: Gabriel Kulik, Percussion, Grade 10, Brighton High School, Kyle Peters
Mildred and Julius Ness Award for Piano
(Winner: $750)
Winner: Weijun Wang, Grade 10, Pittsford Sutherland High School, Alla Kuznetzov
Runner-up: Logan Canfield, Grade 12, McQuaid Jesuit High School, Elier Suarez
Honorable Mention: Howard Tang, Grade 11, Pittsford Mendon High School, Irina Lupines
Nobel Hirsh Award for Male Vocalists
(Winner: $750, Runner-up $300)
Winner: Michael Giordano, grade 11, Greece Athena High School, Kathryn Dyer
Runner-up: Aaron Joseph Blancaflor, Grade 12, Rush Henrietta Senior High School, Nathaniel Watson
Honorable Mention: Vincent Mussumeci, Grade 11, Greece Athena High School, Diane Abrahamian
Ruth and Sidney Salzman Award for Strings
(Winner: $750, Runner-up $300)
Winner: Rebecca Lee, Violin, grade 12, The Harley School, Renee Jolles
Runner-up: Peyton Crony, Viola, Grade 11, School of the Arts, Roberta Zalkind
Honorable Mention: Cailey Huang, Violin, Grade 11, Pittsford Mendon High School, Shannon Nance
Honorable Mention: Alina Ying, Cello, Grade 12, Brighton High School, Ahrim Kim
Honorable Mention: Friana Engineer, Violin, Grade 11, Pittsford Sutherland High School, Janet Milnes
Honorable Mention: Mia Sakonju, Violin, Grade 11, Fayetteville-Manlius High School, James Krehbiel
Honorable Mention: Joanna Frank, Cello, Grade 12, Brighton High School, Christopher Haritatos
Tessa Martin Award for Female Vocalists
(Winner: $750, Runner-up $300)
There is no winner award for the Tessa Martin Award for Female Vocalists