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.

On Introductions, we feature two chamber trios from the Music Institute of Chicago Academy in movements by Mendelssohn, Dvořák, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky. See also: pianist Ethan Zheng gave a solo piano recital on Introductions in March 2023.

Today is the first live recital of the new school year. Amelia Zitoun is in her fifth and final year in the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, commuting every Saturday from Shorewood, Wisconsin to Lake Forest, Illinois. She’s joined by pianist Liang-yu Wang in music of Alfredo Piatti, Nadia Boulanger, and Johannes Brahms. Amelia Zitoun, 17, is a scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college students. She has been a student there since 2019. She currently studies cello with Hans Jørgen Jensen. She recently won the Gold Medal at the Stulberg International String Competition. As a result, she will play the Haydn D major Concerto with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra this year. She also won the first prize at the 2023 Bolz Final Forte Competition where she played the Barber Concerto with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. She was the winner of the 2022 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Stars of Tomorrow Competition, performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations and Barber’s Cello Concerto with the MSO as a result. Amelia is also an active chamber musician. As member of the Pelios String Quartet, she won the Silver Medal at the 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Additionally, Pelios won the Gold Medal and Haydn Prize at the 2023 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. She has appeared on Introductions previously in three different chamber groups, including Pelios, in June 2020, in August 2022, and in August 2023. She is also a student of the the Perlman Littles Program, a 7-week summer program led by Toby and Itzhak Perlman. In 2022, she attended the Heifetz International Music Institute. Amelia is an 12th grader at Shorewood High School in Shorewood, Wisconsin. In her free time she enjoys listening to music, painting, and playing board games with her family.

Today we’re featuring two piano trios from the Music Institute of Chicago Academy’s 2022-23 school year, in music of Beethoven, Esmail, Clarke, Mendelssohn, and Shostakovich. Members of these groups have appeared on Introductions previously, or are set to: – Sameer Agrawal gave a live solo recital in December 2022 and has appeared as a member of different string quartets. – Simon Updegraff will give a live solo recital on November 11, 2023. – Serge Kalinovsky appeared as a member of the Peresson String Quartet in August 2022. – Noah Kim gave a solo piano recital in March 2021; had his competition-winning performance with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago on air in April 2022; and will give a second solo piano recital on December 9, 2023.

Two brothers appear, both as soloists and as a duo.

It’s our annual Labor Day Weekend round-up of graduating seniors, their highlight performances, and what they’re doing next. Today’s episode features 26 young musicians in total.

Today we bring you four graduating seniors from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative – a violinist, a horn player, and two percussionists. Amarin Sharma recently graduated from York Community High School in Elmhurst. Amarin started playing the violin at 7 years old. At the age of 8 she joined Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO), progressing through to the flagship Symphony Orchestra, as well as chamber groups and the Classical Orchestral Repertory Ensemble (CORE). In addition to CYSO, Amarin was involved in York Symphony Orchestra and Northwestern Music Academy Virtuosi Strings throughout high school. Amarin was a Fellow of Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative (CMPI) and a Mellon Foundation Scholarship recipient for three years. Through CMPI, she received guidance and support to further develop her passion in violin performance and orchestral music in preparation for music education in college. She has competed in violin competitions including the Illinois Music Association Annual Olympic Contest where she earned first place. Amarin also enjoyed participating in the ILMEA District 1 and All-State Honors orchestras festivals, as well as OPUS, Credo, and Fulton Music Academy summer camps. In developing her musical skills, Amarin was mentored by Ayako Kikuchi and Stacia Spencer at Northwestern University. In the fall she will study Violin Performance at Vanderbilt University. Sophia Luong is a percussionist from Des Plaines and a recent graduate of Maine West High School. She has been playing percussion for six years and studying under John Ringor for three. Sophia was a fellow with Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative as well as a student at Merit School of Music. She has also been a member of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and National Youth Orchestra 2. In the fall, Sophia will attend the Cleveland Institute of Music to study Percussion Performance. Aleo Esparza, 18, is a Mexican-American percussionist from Chicago, where he graduated from the Francis W. Parker School. He was a fellow in Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative from 2019 to 2023, and studied classical percussion at Merit School of Music with Brandon Podjasek. As a student at Merit, Aleo played in the Philharmonic Orchestra and the percussion chamber group Sticks and Stones. Additionally, Aleo served as Principal Percussionist of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and Timpanist of the CYSO Classical Orchestral Repertory Ensemble for the 2022/23 season. In 2021-22, Aleo was selected for the ILMEA Honors All-State Band and received the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award. The latter led to a performance on Show 423 of NPR’s From The Top. In the summers, Aleo has attended Interlochen Arts Camp twice – once in 2019, and then again in 2021, where he was selected to play in the World Youth Wind Symphony. Last summer, he attended the Brevard Music Center Summer Festival in North Carolina. In the fall, Aleo will attend the DePaul University School of Music for his undergraduate studies in classical percussion. Elena Miller is an 18-year-old horn player from Orland Park, and a recent graduate of Victor J. Andrew High School. She was a member of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras for five years, taking part in the flagship Symphony Orchestra for three years and the top woodwind quintet for one. She studied horn with Dr. Randall Faust, and in the fall she heads to the Cleveland Institute of Music to study Horn Performance.

Today on Introductions, we feature four soloists from within Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. Principal Oboe Zachary Allen takes the podium to conduct his orchestra; Henry Lazzaro and Owen Riordan play solos with piano; and Henry Auxenfans triumphs in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Zachary Allen is an oboist heading to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the fall. He was a longtime principal player in Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, and in 2023 Maestro Allen Tinkham named him the Music Director&#8217;s Student Conducting Fellow. He gave a solo oboe recital on Introductions in June 2023, and previously appeared in ensembles in May 2022 and in January 2022. Henry Lazzaro, 17, is a clarinetist who studied with Laurie Beard. He was a member of CYSO&#8217;s Symphony Orchestra, Classical Orchestral Repertory Ensemble, and Chamber Music Institute. Last summer, he toured Europe with the CYSO performing in Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. He was also a YOLA National Fellow, working under the baton of maestro Gustavo Dudamel. This summer, he is a member of the Tanglewood Institute’s Young Artist Orchestra. Henry previously appeared on Introductions with CYSO&#8217;s Jubilee Woodwind Quintet in May 2022. Henry will be attending Northwestern University in the fall to Pursue a degree in Clarinet Performance with the guidance of professors Stephen Williamson and Todd Levy. Owen Riordan is an 18-year-old trombonist who made his solo debut with the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra at the age of 10. In October 2022 Owen was appointed a S.E. Shires Rising Artist, the only high school trombone artist that year. Among many achievements, Owen was a member of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Interlochen Orchestral Trombone Scholarship in both 2020 and 2021. He has also been the principal trombonist of both the CYSO Symphony Orchestra and the Merit School of Music Philharmonic Orchestra for the past three years. As a member of Merit School&#8217;s Bone Rangers Trombone Quartet, Owen competed at many local and national chamber music competitions, including three Fischoff National Chamber Music Competitions, where his group was awarded the American Brass Quintet Prize. He appeared on Introductions with this group in June 2020 and in July 2021; and on Show 417 of NPR&#8217;s From The Top in May 2022. In addition to playing the trombone, Owen also enjoys writing his own music, weightlifting, photography, reading, auto repair, and cooking. Owen aspires to become a successful musician, whether that be a trombonist in a symphony, a songwriter and composer, or anything between. Violinist Henry Auxenfans is a rising junior at the University of Chicago Lab Schools, and is a Concertmaster with Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. He was a finalist in the 2023 CSO Crain-Maling Foundation Young Artist Competition. He has appeared on Introductions multiple times alongside his brother, clarinetist and pianist Louis Auxenfans, in June 2023, July 2022, and <a href="https://www.wfmt.com/2021/02/13/louis-auxenfans-16-clarinet-and-piano-henry-auxenfans-13-...

This week, two different chamber ensembles. The Pelios String Quartet plays Debussy, Bartók, and Haydn; then Sofia Radovic and Miriam Kessler play Saint-Saëns&#8217; Fantaisie for violin and harp. The Pelios String Quartet won the Silver Medal in the Junior Strings Division of the 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Made up of violinists Ellen Zhou and Clark Snavely, violist Tristan Zhu and cellist Amelia Zitoun, they were coached by Rodolfo Vieira at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. Ellen Zhou previously appeared on Introductions with the Hyacinth Quartet in August 2022; Tristan Zhu previously appeared with the Sprezzatura Quartet in August 2021; and Amelia Zitoun has appeared with the Hermes Piano Trio in August 2022 and the Aurora Piano Quartet in June 2020. Sofia Radovic and Miriam Kessler are both multi-instrumentalists and both have been students at Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. They appeared on Introductions as two thirds of the Golden Trio in July 2021, and both gave multi-instrumental solo recitals earlier this year: Miriam in March 2023 and Sofia in June 2023.

This week we feature two double bassists, both of whom have just graduated from both high school and Midwest Young Artists Conservatory under the mentorship of Founder &amp; President, Dr. Allan Dennis. Jacob Fisher and Ian King present music by Giovanni Bottesini, Reinhold Glière, Paul Hindemith, Giancarlo Aquilanti, and Lloyd Goldstein; and both play movements from JS Bach&#8217;s Cello Suites. Jacob Fisher, 18, is a recent graduate of Highland Park High School. He started taking Suzuki bass lessons at age 3, and he currently studies with Ian Hallas of the Chicago Lyric Opera. One of his favorite things as a bassist has been attending the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassists Conference in Madison, Wisconsin every year since age 3. In 2018, he won the Early Music Category and received an Honorable Mention in the Junior Strings Division of the Walgreens National Concerto Competition. He has also received recognition in the International Society of Bassists (ISB) Solo Competition: an Honorable Mention in 2017 and Third Place in 2019 in the 14-and-under Division in 2017; and being named a finalist in the 15-to-18-year-old division in 2021. Jacob was a member of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory for five years, playing in the Concert Orchestra, the Jazz Workshop, and the Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, Jacob was co-principal bassist in the Illinois Music Educations Association District 7 regional orchestra and placed 5th in the honors all-state orchestra. He played in the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo at HPHS. Jacob was chosen by his classmates to win the Woody Herman Jazz Award in 2022 and Louis Armstrong Jazz Award in 2023. Jacob was also a varsity high school swimmer for four years. Jacob will attend Vanderbilt University this fall, where he plans to study Economics with a minor in Double Bass Performance. Ian King, 18, hails from Lisle and recently graduated from Naperville North High School. He studies double bass with Andy Anderson. He played for a number of years in the Golden Trio, a chamber group formed at Opus Music Camp with violinist Sofia Radovic and pianist Miriam Kessler. The trio appeared on Introductions in in July 2021 following their quarter-final placement in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. In the fall, Ian will attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, majoring in the biomedical sciences.