Semi-Finalists Announced for YCA's 2023 Susan Wadsworth International Auditions

Selected from more than 150 applicants, 38 musicians were chosen to advance to the semi-finals of the Young Concert Artists' annual competition

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.

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.

The semi-finals will take place from November 7-9 at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, in NYC. Also at Merkin Hall, the Finals will be held on November 11 at 10:00 AM. The Winners Concert will be hosted at The Morgan Library & Museum's Gilder Lehrman Hall on November 12 at 4:30 PM. All events will be streamed LIVE on The Violin Channel.

The YCA Auditions are open to instrumentalists aged 16 to 28, singers aged 20 to 30 years old, and North America-based ensembles with an average age of 28 or less. The 38 musicians going to the semi-finals are:

ENSEMBLES

• Callisto Quartet, String Quartet
• Kodachrome, Saxophone Quartet
• Trio Gaia, Piano Trio
• Ziggy & Miles, Guitar Duo

VIOLA

• Nicolas Garrigues
• Samuel Rosenthal

VIOLIN

• David Bernat
• Michael Ferri
• Alena Hove
• Emma Meinrenken
• Oliver Neubauer
• Michael Shaham
• Claire Wells

CELLO

• Hun Choi
• James Baik
• Gaeun Kim
• Marcel Kits
• Youngeun Lee
• Zachary Mowitz
• Jonathan Roozeman
• Chase Park
• Benett Tsai

CLARINET

• Andrei Caval
• Minkyung Chu

FLUTE

• Martha Wing Hang Chan
• Nikka Gershman
• Jamie Kim
• Arin Sarkissian

GUITAR

•  Alan (Xu Kun) Liu

PERCUSSION/ MARIMBA

•  Kana Funayama
• Michael Ching Laam Yeung

PIANO

• Yang (Jack) Gao
• Anna Han
• Hechengzi Li
• Jonathan Mak
• Ilya Shmukler
• Ruoyang Xiang
• Ryan Zhu

"We are immensely grateful to our highly accomplished jury for hearing both the semi-finals and final auditions this year," said President of YCA Daniel Kellogg. "The level of excellence and expertise among them sets a prime example for all of our applicants, and supports YCA's mission to find the most exceptional additions to our roster."

This year's jury includes chairman Daniel Kellogg, Susan Wadsworth, David Starobin, Anne-Marie McDermott, Michael Parloff, Soovin Kim, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Tai Murray, Clive Greensmith, Lise de la Salle, Hanako Yamaguchi, and Deborah Borda (finals 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.