DAVIDSON & CHARLOTTE, NC – Classical Public Radio 89.9 WDAV and OrthoCarolina announced today the winners of the 2016 Young Chamber Musicians Competition (YCMC).
On May 1, four of the nation’s top youth chamber ensembles competed in Davidson College’s Duke Family Performance Hall for their share of $12,000. The third annual Young Chamber Musicians Competition was broadcast live on WDAV. Competition judges included Charlotte Symphony Principal Cellist Alan Black; John Gordon Ross, music director for the Western Piedmont Symphony; and Dan Locklair, Composer-in-Residence and Professor of Music at Wake Forest University.
The winner of the 19-25 age group and $4,000 grand prize is the Onyx Quartet from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Members of the ensemble include Genevieve Smelser (violin), Michael Siess (violin), Spencer Ingersoll (viola), and Noah Krauss (cello). The ensemble is part of CIM’s Intensive Quartet Seminar and has studied with nationally-recognized groups such as the Jupiter Quartet and the Cavani Quartet.
The runner-up of the 19-25 age group, who took home $2,000, is the Von Quartet, a chamber ensemble from the Jacobs School of Music at the University of Indiana. The group – which includes members from Iceland, South Korea, Canada, and the United States – is comprised of Jisun Lee (violin), Gudbjartur Hakonarson (violin), Ursula Steele (viola), and Joanne Yesol Choi (cello).
The winner of the 14-18 age group and $2,500 is the Chimera Quartet from The Colburn School in Los Angles. Geneva Lewis (violin), Cameron Alan-Lee (violin), Emma Wernig (viola), and Tomsen Su (cello) make up the ensemble. The group currently serves as the Honors Quartet in Colburn’s Ed and Mari Edelman Chamber Music Program. The Chimera Quartet also took home the competition’s first ever People’s Choice Award, which was selected by audience members and listeners using text-to- vote. The award, sponsored by Davidson Day School, was worth $2,000.
The runner up of the 14-18 age group, who took home $1,500, is the New York-based Noctis Quartet, an ensemble that formed out of a mutual love of chamber music. Members include Kevin Zhu (violin), Andrew Kim (violin), Jacob van der Sloot (viola), and Chase Park (cello).
A complete recording of this year’s competition can be found at ycmc.wdav.org. Stay tuned in the coming months for details on the 2017 Young Chamber Musicians Competition, which will be held on May 7.
WDAV Classical Public Radio is one of America’s leading producers of original classical-music programming. In addition to producing 156 hours per week for its own broadcast use on 89.9FM, HD- 1, HD-2, and wdav.org channels, the station produces nationally-distributed programs, including Concierto, and, in partnership with South Carolina Public Radio, World of Opera and Carolina Live. A service of Davidson College in Davidson, NC, WDAV’s mission is to make classical music accessible to everyone. WDAV’s main source of operating revenue comes from annual member contributions. The station’s 89.9FM signal reaches a 22-county region centered in the Charlotte, NC metro area and ranges from Rock Hill, SC to Galax, VA. WDAV’s broadcasts can also be heard live online 24 hours a day at wdav.org and iTunes, as well as on any Android, iPhone, or iPad device equipped with the WDAV Classical Public Radio app, or the TuneIn, NPR Music, or Public Radio Player apps.
OrthoCarolina is one of the nation’s leading independent academic orthopedics practices serving North Carolina and the Southeast since 1922. OrthoCarolina provides compassionate and comprehensive musculoskeletal care including operative and non-operative care, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitative therapy. Widely known for musculoskeletal research and training, OrthoCarolina physicians have specialized expertise in foot and ankle, hip and knee, shoulder and elbow, spine, sports medicine, hand, pediatric orthopedics, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Our 120 OrthoCarolina physicians see nearly one million patient visits throughout western North Carolina each year. OrthoCarolina. You. Improved.