Today we hear from cellist Jeffery Tong of Lisle. He’s joined by pianist Liang-yu Wang in music of Saint-Saëns, Beethoven, Bach, Perkinson, and Nadia Boulanger. Jeffery Tong is a cello student of Tanya Carey, on the artistic faculty at the Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University. He was named a 2024 Classical Music Award Winner by the National YoungArts Foundation and was selected to perform for the Young Steinway concert series. He was invited to perform in Carnegie Hall as the first-place winner of the 2023 American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition. He h ..read more

This morning we hear from all three finalists in the 2024 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition, including a historic first appearance by a steelpan soloist. Chloe Nam, Elyse Schlesinger and winner Jaden Teague-Núñez are joined by the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and conductor Kyle Dickson. Finalist: Chloe Nam, 15, flute Chloe Nam is a sophomore at Northside College Preparatory High School in Chicago. Under the expert guidance of Hideko Amano, Chloe developed a deep passion for flute performance. Since eighth grade, she has been a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras ..read more

We welcome a return guest, pianist and composer Zarin Mehta. In addition to music of Bach, Beethoven, and Lyapunov, Zarin presents a composition and a transcription of his own, plus the North American premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’s Amalgam. Zarin Mehta, 16, has burst onto the classical music scene as a concert pianist and composer, winning first prize in Senior Piano and twice winning second prize in Composition with the Music Teachers National Association Competitions. He has also claimed prizes in the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, the International Young Artist Concerto Com ..read more

Chicago-raised pianist Kené Obiaya is an alum of the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute and is now a high school senior at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. He presents music of Chopin, Bach, Still and Brahms. Kené Obiaya is 17 years old and began taking piano lessons at age 3. Kené currently attends Interlochen Arts Academy where he studies piano with Dr. Kara Huber. He previously attended the Chicago Academy for the Arts, and previously studied piano with Laura Fenster and Bethany Stefanut. In the summer of 2023, Kené attended Indiana University Piano Academy where he was selected for the honors ..read more

Following his win in the 2022 Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artist Competition, Vernon Hills pianist Noah Kim returns to Introductions for a second solo recital playing Bach, Mozart, Schumann and Kapustin. The post LIVE | Noah Kim, 17, piano appeared first on WFMT ..read more

This week, the latest performance from the CYSO Symphony Orchestra in Orchestra Hall in downtown Chicago. Allen Tinkham conducts the Chicago premiere of a new Augusta Read Thomas piece, followed by works of Claude Debussy and Gustav Mahler. The post Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras Fall 2023 concert appeared first on WFMT ..read more

On Introductions, we hear once again from Ma’ayan Kertcher, now majoring in cello at Oberlin College and Conservatory. She plays Reena Esmail’s Varsha, then joins pianist Shirley Trissell for Johannes Brahms’ First Sonata. This episode first aired on July 15, 2023. More details, podcast and video are available at the original episode page. The post Encore broadcast | Ma’ayan Kertcher, 18, cello appeared first on WFMT ..read more

We’re featuring twin sisters on Introductions today: Isabel and Anna Edgcomb are 18 and they play flute and oboe respectively. They both hail from Long Grove, are seniors at Adlai E. Stevenson High School, and attend Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. They’re joined by pianist Lyudmila Lakisova in music of Telemann, Kalliwoda, Liebermann, Poulenc, Taffanel and Cimarosa. Isabel Edgcomb studies flute with Hideko Amano and is in the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, where she has performed many major symphonies at Symphony Center in Chicago. Isabel is the 2023 Principal Flut ..read more

Live on Introductions this morning is cellist Simon Updegraff from the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. He begins on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month with Elgar’s Cello Concerto, followed by works of Bach and Bloch; a cello suite of Chad “Sir Wick” Hughes, and Monti’s Csárdás. Sung Hoon Mo plays piano. Simon Updegraff, 16, is a Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a program for advanced pre-college musicians. He began Suzuki cello lessons at age four and studies with Avi Friedlander. Simon is a winner of the Chicago Chamber Music Festival Concerto Com ..read more

Today we feature two chamber groups from Midwest Young Artists Conservatory – one piano trio, and one string quartet. The violinists of these groups have appeared previously on Introductions: – Ruth Kim played in the Ardente String Quartet in August 2020 and in August 2021; – John Lee gave a live solo recital in May 2023 and appeared previously in other chamber groups; – Vincenzo Zuppardo previously appeared with Quartet Feroce in August 2021. The post Respirazione Trio & Aurum Quartet appeared first on WFMT ..read more