The final auditions will take place live on October 27, 2024 and will be streamed on The Violin Channel
Established in 1961, the Young Concert Artists (YCA) Susan Wadsworth International Auditions has since provided emerging artists opportunities to connect with top industry professionals to further their music careers.
The auditions are open to instrumentalists aged 16 to 28 years old, singers 20 to 30 years old, and ensembles with an average age of 30 or less, as of as of October 27, 2024. The semi-final round of the auditions was held from October 23-25, 2024 at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City. From here, the 2024 finalists includes:
- Julian Rhee, violin
- Derek Wang, piano
- Terra String Quartet
- Kiron Tellian, piano
- Radu Ratoi, accordion
- Hoi Leong Cheong (Zach), piano
- Trio Azura
- Elli Choi, violin
- Yang (Jack) Gao, piano
- Rino Yoshimoto, violin
- Gregory Feldman, baritone
- Koshiro Takeuchi, violin
The final round of auditions, sponsored by The Linda & Isaac Stern Charitable Foundation, will be held on Sunday, October 27, 2024, at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York City — and will be streamed LIVE on The Violin Channel.
A Winners Concert will follow on Monday, October 28, 2024, at New York’s Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum.
From the Auditions, the YCA adds a new group of winning artists to its roster each year. Winners receive a minimum three-year management contract, high-profile debuts, plus national and international recital and orchestra performance opportunities.
Additionally, winners will benefit from full promotional and marketing services, educational residency experience, and professional development, as well as YCA’s network of industry managers, concert presenters, top conductors, and financial supporters.
Winners must be available to perform concert engagements in North America for a minimum of six weeks (two three-week periods) between September and May of each concert season.
Anchored by Young Concert Artists founder Susan Wadsworth and YCA President Daniel Kellogg, the jury is comprised of pianists Inon Barnatan and Angela Cheng, violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, violinists Barry Shiffman and Pamela Frank, flutist Marya Martin, soprano Dawn Upshaw, and conductor and pianist Constantine Orbelian — along with Cristina Rocca, VP of Artistic Planning at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Donald Palumbo, Chorus Master at the Metropolitan Opera; and Abhijit Sengupta, Director of Artistic Planning at Carnegie Hall (finals jury only).
Previous YCA recipients include Pinchas Zukerman, Ida Kavafian, Anne Akiko Meyers, Emanuel Ax, Murray Perahia, plus VC Artists Paul Huang, Ray Chen, Stephen Warts, Zlatomir Fung, Xavier Foley, SooBeen Lee, Risa Hokamura, and Jonathan Swensen.
