DAVIDSON & CHARLOTTE, NC – Classical Public Radio 89.9 WDAV recently announced the winners of the 2017 Young Chamber Musicians Competition (YCMC), presented by OrthoCarolina.
On April 23, four of the nation’s top youth chamber ensembles competed in Davidson College’s Duke Family Performance Hall for their share of $12,000, a studio recording session, and a paid performance as part of the 2017-18 Davidson College Concert Series. The fourth annual Young Chamber Musicians Competition was broadcast live on WDAV and video streamed live on Facebook and ycmc.wdav.org, courtesy of Quo Vadis. Competition judges included Charlotte Symphony Concertmaster Calin Lupanu; Mauro Botelho, Chair of the Music Department at Davidson College; and Christopher James Lees, Assistant Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the UNC School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra.
The winner of the Senior Division and $4,000 grand prize is Quartet Amí from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. Members of the ensemble include Miki Nagahara (violin), Natalie Lee (violin), Gabriel Napoli (viola), and Gerthrudur Anna Gudmundsdottir (cello). All of their members are seniors at Northwestern and are part of the university’s string quartet seminar, led by the Dover Quartet and Mathias Tacke.
The runner-up of the Senior Division, who took home $2,000, is the Callisto Quartet, a chamber ensemble from the Cleveland Institute of Music. The group is comprised of Paul Aguilar (violin), Rachel Stenzel (violin), Eva Kennedy (viola), and Hannah Moses (cello). The quartet is currently one of six groups chosen to participate in CIM’s Intensive Quartet Seminar where they work closely with Peter Salaff and the Cavani String Quartet.
The winner of the Junior Division and $2,500 is the Quartet Bellezza from Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. Members include Masha Lakisova (violin), Robert Sanders (violin), Peter Dudek (viola), and David Caplan (cello). The group was formed in the Fall of 2016 and love making music together.
The runner up of the Junior Division, who took home $1,500, is the Orion Trio, also from the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. Also formed in the Fall of 2016, the trio includes Rebecca Moy (violin), Haddon Kay (cello), and George Dalianis (piano). All three are also members of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Symphony Orchestra.
In an exciting ending, the People’s Choice Award, courtesy of Sharon Towers Continuing Care Retirement Community, was announced as a tie between Quartet Bellezza and Callisto Quartet; each group shared the exact same number of votes. On the spot, WDAV donor and friend Wilton Connor offered to sponsor another People’s Choice Award, so each group walked away with the full $2,000 prize.
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 2018 Young Chamber Musicians Competition, coming up April 21, 2018.
Additional support for YCMC 2017 provided by Bragg Financial, Steinway Piano Gallery of Charlotte, Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates, Carrburritos, Lake Norman Realty, and Woodlawn School.
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.