DAVIDSON & CHARLOTTE, NC – Classical Public Radio 89.9 WDAV recently announced the winners of the 2019 Young Chamber Musicians Competition (YCMC), presented by OrthoCarolina.
YCMC, now in its sixth year, is widely recognized as one of the top post-graduate, collegiate, and high school chamber competitions in the U.S. The competition awards $12,000 in prizes, including an innovative $2,000 award by a public jury. YCMC also awards scholarships to the Brevard Music Institute, the Catherine & Wilton Connor Studio Recording Prize, and a performance opportunity in the Davidson College Concert Series. The competition finals took place on Sunday, April 14th at the Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College.
Senior Division
The winner of the Senior Division and $4,000 grand prize is the Ivalas Quartet from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. Founded in 2016, the quartet was awarded first prize in the 2018 Briggs Chamber Music Competition, and was named a semifinalist group at both the M-Prize competition in Ann Arbor and Concert Artists Guild competition in New York City. Maintaining their commitment to community engagement, the Ivalas Quartet has also represented the Sphinx Organization playing for students in Flint and the Metro Detroit area.
The runner-up of the Senior Division, who took home $2,000, is the Bora Quartet, a string quartet from the Juilliard School in New York City. Under the tutelage of Roger Tapping, the Bora Quartet values the importance of leadership of younger generations in the classical music world, and strive to collaborate with other musicians to spread the genre to new audiences.
Junior Division & People’s Choice Award
The winner of the Junior Division and $2,500 is the Dajj Quartet. Formed in 2015 at the Chamber Music Connection in Worthington, Ohio, Dajj’s accolades include 2019 OSTA First Prize, 2018 Saint Paul Gold Medal and Haydn Prize, 2018 Coltman Bronze Medal, 2018 OSTA Second Prize, 2018 M-Prize and Fischoff Semi-finalist, 2017 MYA Discover Grand Prize, 2017 Saint Paul Bronze Medal, 2017 OSTA Honorable Mention, and 2017 Coltman Finalist. Dajj Quartet also won the People’s Choice Award, courtesy of Sharon Towers Continuing Care Retirement Community – a $2,000 prize.
The runner up of the Junior Division, who took home $1,500, is the Arcus Trio from Cleveland, Ohio. Individual members are scholars in the Young Artists Program at Cleveland Institute of Music and perform regularly as soloists and with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. Arcus Trio is coached by Si-Yan Darren Li and Carolyn Warner.
Competition judges included Nicholas Kitchen, Artistic Director of the Heifetz International Music Institute and Violinist of the Borromeo String Quartet; Saxton Rose, Principal Bassoonist of the Winston-Salem Symphony and Associate Professor of Bassoon and Woodwind Department Chair at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts; William Fried, Artist Associate of Piano at Davidson College; Jason Posnock, Director of Artistic Planning and Educational Programs at the Brevard Music Center; and Caroline Stinson, Associate Professor at Duke University and Cellist of the Lark and Ciompi Quartets.
A complete video recording of this year’s competition can be found on Facebook and at ycmc.wdav.org. Stay tuned in the coming months for details on the 2020 Young Chamber Musicians Competition, coming up April 26, 2020.
WDAV’s Young Chamber Musician’s Competition is powered by OrthoCarolina. Additional support comes from Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates, Lake Norman Realty, Quo Vadis, Steinway Piano Gallery, Woodlawn School, Carrburritos, Sharon Towers, Terpening Law, and Davidson Wealth Management.
WDAV Classical Public Radio is dedicated to building a community focused on classical music by providing easy access to the art form, as well as opportunities for exploration and discovery. 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, Carolina Live. A service of Davidson College in Davidson, NC, 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.