Carnegie Hall Announces Teen Musicians Selected For NYO2 In Summer 2024

Carnegie Hall has announced the names of the 89 young musicians selected from across the country for NYO2, an intensive summer orchestral training program for outstanding American instrumentalists, ages 14–17.

The members of the 2024 orchestra, who have been recognized by Carnegie Hall to be among the most promising young players in the country, hail from a range of urban, suburban, and rural hometowns across 29 states, with many coming from communities that have often been underserved by and under-represented in the classical music field. Twenty-four musicians are returning to NYO2 from previous seasons.

Thirty musicians who took part in NYO2 in previous summers have been accepted to the 2024 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), Carnegie Hall's flagship ensemble for players ages 16–19. Carnegie Hall's national youth ensembles—including NYO2—are offered free of charge to participants, ensuring that all invited musicians can take part each summer.

Created in summer 2016, NYO2 actively recruits talented younger players from across the country, aiming to expand the pool of young musicians equipped with the tools to succeed at the highest level.

Carnegie Hall has been awarded $1 million in new federal funding in support of this program. Thanks to the support of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, these essential funds will help the Hall expand national recruitment for NYO2 and create new opportunities to engage directly with more New York students, including invitations to rehearsals and collaborations on special projects. Free tickets and transportation to the orchestra's Carnegie Hall concert will also ensure that local students are among the hundreds of young musicians and thousands of New Yorkers to experience inspirational music making by the Hall's national youth ensembles this summer.

“We congratulate the remarkable young players who will come together this summer as part of NYO2, inspiring us with their artistry and joining us in welcoming young musicians from around the world to New York,” said Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall's Executive and Artistic Director. “As we unveil this year's roster, we are happy to take this opportunity to express how grateful we are to Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for securing important funding that will help advance NYO2. In recent years, it has been meaningful to hear our alumni describe how invaluable their NYO2 experiences have been to their development as musicians. With this show of support, more New York students and young musicians can now benefit from this extraordinary program. Thank you, Senators, for helping Carnegie Hall deliver on its ongoing commitment to serving New Yorkers through music.”

“They say the way to Carnegie Hall is to ‘practice, practice, practice,' which is why I'm so pleased to support the NYO2 program with federal funding that will help the program expand and allow more young musicians pursue their artistic dreams at one of the greatest cultural institutions in the world,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “I commend Carnegie Hall for cultivating the next generation of musicians from all over America and investing in the future of arts and culture in New York. This is what makes our city such a special and dynamic place, bringing together the best and most talented individuals from all over the world in harmony to create something magical.”

“Congratulations to the talented students who have been selected to participate in Carnegie Hall's exceptional NYO2 program,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “I am so proud to have delivered $1 million for NYO2, which offers students of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds the opportunity to engage in the arts and classical music at the highest level free of charge. The arts define who we are as a nation and are pivotal to the advancement of our education and economy, and I thank Carnegie Hall for its extraordinary work in arts education.”

American conductor Teddy Abrams, Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra, will lead NYO2 in the ensemble's Carnegie Hall concert on Thursday, August 1 at 7:00 p.m. The evening's program includes Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite (1919 version), plus the world premiere of a new wind concertante (co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall) by Jasmine Barnes, featuring principal players from leading US orchestras including flutist Demarre McGill, oboist Titus Underwood, clarinetist Anthony McGill, and bassoonist Andrew Brady.

NYO2's performance kicks off World Orchestra Week (WOW!)—a new summer concert festival celebrating international youth orchestras—with incredible young musicians from five continents taking to the Carnegie Hall stage on consecutive nights through August 7. Inspired by the connections made through music by the Hall's national youth ensembles as they have toured the world, this ambitious international initiative brings five youth orchestras from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to New York City for high-level music making plus cultural exchange activities, including a massive play-in event to include all 700 young musicians. Along with NYO2 and the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, participating orchestras include the National Children's Symphony of Venezuela, Africa United Youth Orchestra, Beijing Youth Symphony Orchestra, European Union Youth Orchestra, and Afghan Youth Orchestra.

Following their New York performance, NYO2 will also travel to Dallas, Texas for a residency to include a performance at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on Tuesday, August 6 and activities with other young instrumentalists.

The NYO2 musicians arrive in New York City in mid-July to start their intensive two-week training residency at Purchase College, State University of New York, located just north of New York City. James Ross, who has worked with NYO-USA since its inaugural year and with NYO2 since last summer, returns to oversee rehearsals during the orchestra's residency alongside 2024 associate conductors Carlos Ágreda and Tamara Dworetz. NYO2's faculty of top music professionals will work closely with the young players, helping them to prepare their 2024 program and coaching them in master classes and sectionals.

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NYO2 2024 Orchestra Roster

+ Prior NYO2 member

Alaska
Grant Chythlook, Cello (Anchorage)

Arizona
Joshua Lee, Violin (Phoenix)

Arkansas
Nathan Ma, Violin (Fayetteville) 
Charlie Tullis, Flute (Prairie Grove) 
Macy Brummal, Viola (Rogers) 

California 
Cara Xu, Flute (Arcadia) + 
Henry Stroud, Violin (Berkeley) 
Cade Peckham, Bass (Clovis) 
Karlin Rhees, Horn (Eastvale) 
Rebekah Sung, Viola (Fremont) 
Jiyu Lee, Violin (Fullerton) + 
Minji Choi, Violin (Irvine) 
Haejae Kayla Kim (Irvine) + 
Brandon Kang, Cello (Palo Alto) 
Noah La Porte, Bass (Pasadena) +
Euisun Hong, Violin (Pleasanton) + 
Leyuan Zhang, Cello (Pleasanton) 
Gabriel Irazabal, Cello (San Jose) 
Ethan Zhou, Violin (San Diego) 
Ian Kim, Bass (Saratoga) 
Hannah Cho, Oboe (Tustin) + 

Connecticut
Grace Yoon, Bassoon (Wallingford) + 

Florida
Jordan Wilson, Horn (Lake Worth) + 
Aidan Davis, Violin (Orlando) 
Omar Khan, Percussion (Orlando) 
Leila Warren, Violin (Ponte Vedra Beach) + 

Georgia
Angelina Lu, Violin (Atlanta) + 
Gabriel Silva, Trombone (Buford) 
Faith Meshida, Violin (Dacula) + 
Harrison Buck, Percussion (Madison) 

Hawaii
Seva Swan, Violin (Mililani) + 

Indiana 
Cory Sedwick, Percussion (Floyds Knob) 

 Louisiana
Sophia Vu, Violin (Slidell) 

Maryland
James Jiyu Obasiolu, Cello (Columbia) + 
Luke Zegowitz, Oboe (Crofton) + 
Issac Won, Trumpet (Potomac) 
Yixuan Li, Violin (Rockville) 
Jonathan Henderson, Viola (Rockville)

Massachusetts
Su Min Pyo, Clarinet (Belmont) 
Dhiren Sivapala, Bassoon (Boston) 

 Michigan
Summer Su, Alto Saxophone (Ann Arbor) 

Minnesota
Sophia Alexander, Cello (Minneapolis) 
Christian Garner, Trumpet (Minnetonka) + 

Nebraska
Pauline Lee, Violin (Omaha) + 

Nevada
Diego Sanchez-Ochoa, Viola (Las Vegas) 

New Jersey 
Ananth Raman, Trumpet (Bridgewater) 
Isabelle Son, Viola (Cresskill) + 
Dana Chung, Viola (Englewood Cliffs) 
Natalie Oh, Violin (Oradell) 
Tanav Gowda, Viola (Princeton Junction) 

 New York 
Samuel Jacobowitz, Trombone (Brooklyn) 
Austin Vitello, Bassoon (Clarence Center) 
Joshua Lee, Bass (Great Neck) 
Indio Duran, Bass (Hillburn) + 
Claire Cho, Violin (Long Island City) 
Jonathan So, Viola (Manlius) + 
Ivy Hahn, Violin (New York) 
Irene Lee, Oboe (New York) +
Kathleen Lee, Viola (New York) 
Hazel Peebles, Viola (New York) 
Lily Clark, Trumpet (Niagara Falls) 
Liana D. Logan, Bass (Queens) + 
Yuuki Donnelly, Violin (Rocky Point) + 

North Carolina 
Max Posnock, Percussion (Brevard) 
Alisa Keel, Violin (Cary) 

North Dakota
Gabe Sagini, Violin (Grand Forks) 

Ohio 
Grace Kim, Flute (Mason) 

Oklahoma 
Jason Samuels, Bass (Oklahoma City) 
Kathy Liu, Cello (Stillwater) + 
Dylan Perez, Cello (Tulsa) 

Oregon 
Sabine Voelker, Viola (Eugene) 
Leo Trajano, Violin (Hillsboro) 
Haruka Sakiyama, Horn (Portland)

Pennsylvania 
Daniel Xu, Clarinet (Exton) 

Tennessee
Luke Davis, Percussion (Memphis) 
Jack Feng, Violin (Memphis) 

Texas 
Elena Elorreaga, Horn (Austin) 
David Sato, Bass Trombone (Austin) 
David Suarez, Clarinet (Bedford) 
June Eickholt, Tuba (Colleyville) 
Daniel Rocha, Violin (Corpus Christi) 
Levi Robertson, Horn (Dallas) 
Yeonjoo Oh, Violin (Frisco) 
Rebekah Koh, Violin (Harker Heights) 
Seun Ayadi, Harp (Sugar Land) 

Utah 
Meg McMurtrey, Violin (Eagle Mountain) + 

Virginia 
Noah Crumbly, Cello (Chesapeake) 

Washington 
Rachel Jung, Violin (Bellevue) 

About NYO2

Created by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute in summer 2016, NYO2 brings together outstanding young American instrumentalists ages 14–17 for a summer orchestral training program that includes a residency and an exciting concert at Carnegie Hall. Running in conjunction with the summer residency of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) at Purchase College, State University of New York (SUNY), NYO2 offers an opportunity for younger participants to play alongside exceptionally talented peers and learn from a world-class faculty. With a focus on actively recruiting talented young players from across the country, the program aims to expand the pool of young musicians equipped with the tools to succeed at the highest level, particularly those who come from communities that have been underserved by and underrepresented in the classical music field.

Since its inaugural season, NYO2 has captivated audiences around the world through annual performances at Carnegie Hall; three summers of residencies and performances in Miami Beach in partnership with the New World Symphony; vibrant digital video projects and performances streamed worldwide; and most recently, its first international residency and performances, presented by Fundación Sinfonía in the Dominican Republic in July 2023. Over the past eight years, NYO2 has worked with renowned faculty, guest artists, and conductors that include Mei-Ann Chen, Giancarlo Guerrero, Jennifer Koh, Gabriela Montero, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Gil Shaham, Esperanza Spalding, and Joseph Young. Described as “… not only a laudable educational project, but highly enjoyable and a lot of fun ... these teenagers had the technical mastery, musicianship, and panache to rival anyone” (New York Classical Review), NYO2 has performed at the New World Center in Miami, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia; Teatro Nacional Eduardo Brito in Santo Domingo, Gran Teatro del Cibao in Santiago, and Carnegie Hall.

NYO2 is one of Carnegie Hall's three acclaimed national youth ensembles, which also include NYO-USA for outstanding classical musicians ages 16–19, which celebrated its 10th anniversary season last summer; and NYO Jazz for the nation's finest jazz instrumentalists ages 16–19. Each of these prestigious national programs—free to all participants—is dedicated to the proposition that talented young musicians thrive when given the opportunity to expand their musical, social, and cultural horizons and share their artistry with audiences around the globe.

To learn more about NYO2, visit carnegiehall.org/NYO2.