Young Concert Artists Announces 12 Finalists Selected For 2023 Susan Wadsworth Auditions

Young Concert Artists (YCA) announces the selection of 12 finalists to advance to the finals of the annual Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. Chosen by an esteemed jury following 36 semi-finalist performances yesterday at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, those chosen to advance to the Final Auditions include:

James Baik, cello 
Yang (Jack) Gao, piano
Nikka Gershman, flute
Marcel Kits, cello
Oliver Neubauer, violin
Samuel Rosenthal, viola
Michael Shaham, violin
Benett Tsai, cello
Claire Wells, violin
Michael Yeung, percussion
Ziggy & Miles, guitar duo
Callisto Quartet, string quartet

YCA President Daniel Kellogg says, “We had a particularly strong slate of semi-finalists this year. The 12 finalists have displayed a unique level of talent, energy, and competitiveness - we look forward to what they will bring to their final auditions.”

As the final step in the rigorous audition process, the selected finalists will perform in the Final Auditions tomorrow, Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 10:00am ET at Merkin Hall, available to watch via The Violin Channel, and on the YCA YouTube and Facebook channels. The jury includes distinguished musicians and industry professionals, including Daniel Kellogg, composer and jury chair*; Susan Wadsworth, YCA founder; David Starobin, producer/guitar; Anne-Marie McDermott, piano*; Michael Parloff, flute; Soovin Kim, violin; Dmitry Sitkovetsky, conductor/violin; Tai Murray, violin; Clive Greensmith, cello; Lise de la Salle, piano*; Hanako Yamaguchi, independent producer and arts consultant; and Deborah Borda, arts leader. (*(*YCA Alum)

Winners will be announced tomorrow evening and the new YCA Jacobs Fellows will perform in the 2023 Winners Concert on Sunday, November 12, 2023 at 4:30pm ET at The Morgan Library & Museum in NYC, also available to livestream The Violin Channel, and on the YCA YouTube and Facebook channels.

The YCA Jacobs Fellowship is a three-year program that takes artists to new levels of confidence and creative growth, offering a holistic combination of digital tools, training, mentorship, community engagement, project development, and performance opportunities. The program teaches artists how to develop their own unique musical and artistic voice, encouraging them to expand their personal boundaries so they can continue to move the artform forward into the future.

Artists are added to a stellar roster with the promise of debuts in both New York City and Washington, DC, followed by at least three years of career management. Winners of the annual YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and bi-annual Composer-in-Residence Search receive performance opportunities, promotional marketing services, travel arrangements, educational residency experience, and extensive professional development. YCA invests in their careers so they may spend a lifetime bringing the gift of music to audiences around the world. Throughout their tenure, emerging artists benefit from YCA's connections with the industry's managers, concert presenters, conductors of major orchestras, and financial supporters, as well as its long-standing reputation for discovering and furthering the careers of extraordinary young artists.

Young Concert Artists also extends warmest thanks to the jury members who served on the preliminary round of auditions: Robert Belinic, guitar; Michael Brown, piano; Colin Carr, cello; Karen Dreyfus, viola; Alan Feinberg, piano; Lois Hicks-Wozniak, saxophone; Matt Howard, percussion; Paul Huang, violin; Ida Kavafian, violin; Daniel Lippel, guitar; Karen Lindquist, harp; Todd Palmer, clarinet; Daniel Panner, viola; Ory Shihor, piano; Alex Sopp, flute; Naoko Takada, marimba; and Golda Tatz, piano.