2024 Young Musicians Concerto competition winners

Six Unforgettable Performances from Rising Stars, in collaboration between CAPMT, JCM, and OCofOC.

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Program

Presented by CAPMT and JCM

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Felix Mendelssohn

Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25
Movement 3: Presto – Molto allegro e vivace

Seojin Park

Julius Conus

Julius Conus

Violin Concerto in E minor

Movement 1: Allegro molto

 

Cameron Oates

Max Bruch

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26

Movement 1: Vorspiel (Allegro moderato)

Damon Ko

Jenő Hubay

Hejre Kati, Op. 32, No. 4
(Hungarian Csárdás)

William Lin

Julius Conus

Edward Elgar

Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85
Movement 4: Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non-troppo – Poco più lento – Adagio

Arianna Lai

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33

Noah Choi

Arianna Lai

Student of Joon Sung Jun

Arianna Lai (15 years old) is a sophomore at University High School, Irvine. She started cello when she was 9 years old, and currently studies with Professor Joon Sung Jun. Arianna has received numerous awards throughout her cello career. As a freshman in high school, Arianna was honored with an Award of Excellence in Performing Art and Outstanding Orchestra Musician in 2024. She has won multiple first prizes at the Junior Chamber Music Concerto Competition, Great Composers Competition, Amici International Music Competition and was awarded scholarships. She was also a grand finalist and honored as Special Achievement Award Winner in the Satori Competition.

On top of solo playing, Arianna also enjoys participating in orchestras. In middle school, she performed as principal cellist and soloist of Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings orchestra at Segerstrom Hall and was awarded the Conductor Award in the 2022-2023 season. She has also performed as a principal and soloist in California All State Honor Orchestra. Active in chamber music, she has been an honor member of Junior Chamber Music for two years and recently her trio was selected for the Distinguished Artist Masterclass. She also uses her talent in music to give back to the community by volunteering in a variety of organizations such as Back to Bach and Rancho San Joaquin Middle School.

Outside of her busy cello life, Arianna is very passionate about art. Her illustration work has been selected and published nationally and internationally by New York Times One-Pager Challenge, Blick, Pentel and recently been recognized by Scholastic as a regional gold key recipient, advancing her into their national level competition.

Cameron Oates

Student of Yuki Mori & Min Jung Park

Cameron Oates is currently a senior at Oxford Academy. His love for music began when he took piano lessons at four years old. Not long after, he was drawn to the violin and has been inseparable from it ever since. Over the years, Cameron has performed and received numerous awards from various competitions, including the Satori Strings Grand Prize, Southwestern Youth Music Festival, Musical Arts Competition, American Protege International Competition, Saddleback Concerto Competition, and Cal-ASTA Solo Competition.

Under the guidance of Yuki Mori and Min Jung Park, he will be playing with the Saddleback College Philharmonic later this year and representing the ASTA Los Angeles region in the State's final competition this fall. Cameron's favorite performances were when he took the stage at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall-Weill Recital Hall in 2022 and the benefit concert that he organized last year, raising over $3000 for Olive Crest, a non-profit organization that helps and supports broken families.

Cameron is a leader in many aspects. He has served as the Concert Master for the Oxford Academy Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Deanna Miner since 9th grade. He is also part of the Associated Student Body and the co-captain of the boys' varsity soccer team at Oxford Academy.

Damon Ko

Student of Yuki Mori & Min Jung Park

Damon Ko is a 7th-grader at Cadence Park School in Irvine, CA. He started his musical journey at the age of 5 and is currently studying violin with Yuki Mori and Min Jung Park at The Mori & Park Violin Studio.

Damon believes in philanthropy through music, and his performance at the 2023 Spirit of Excellence Gala, hosted by the Irvine Public Schools Foundation (IPSF), helped raise generous funds to support art, music, STEM, and athletic programs in Irvine schools. He won 1st place and was a recipient of the Special Award at the 2023 Satori Summer Music Festival and was also placed 1st in his age group at the 2023 Southwestern Youth Music Festival.

Damon is all about strings! When he is not practicing the violin, Damon is working his racquet strings through competitive tennis and is currently one of Southern California’s top 20 tennis players ages twelve and under.

Noah Choi

Student of Bongshin Ko

Noah Choi, a fifteen-year-old cellist, began his musical journey at the age of seven. He is currently studying under Sarah Koo, a graduate of the Juilliard School, and has previously studied with Michael Kaufman and Bonghsin Ko. Noah's path took a significant leap forward with his debut performance of Haydn’s C major concerto with the COSB orchestra, an opportunity he earned by winning 1st prize at the 2022 Southwestern Youth Music Festival (SYMF) Young Cellist award.

In addition to this achievement, Noah won multiple first prizes at SYMF, the Satori Summer Music Festival String Contest, and was named best string player at the International Arts Competition For Young Performers "COLIBRI." He also secured first place in CAL-ASTA’s Bowed String Competition, is a scholarship recipient from both Classical Music Encounters of Orange Country (CMEOC) and the Hennings-Fischer Foundation, and is also a finalist at the 25th Osaka International Music Competition. Recently, Noah recorded Shostakovich's Cello Sonata in D minor with his father, Rufus Choi, under Santa Monica UMC.

Furthermore, he has received mentorship from renowned artists like Robert DeMaine, Jonathan Roozeman, Dmitri Yablonsky, John Walz, Daniel Rothmuller, Ko Iwasaki, and Yue Tang. As an active chamber musician, his trio won first prize at the JCM Chamber Music Competition in 2023 and 2024, as well as first prize in MTAC’s VOCE Chamber Music Competition. His group will also appear on From The Top’s Daily Joy program. Currently, he partakes in Colburn’s Chamber Music Institute (CHMI). During the summer, Noah runs a bi-weekly practice marathon to help young students enjoy practicing while making it more efficient and effective. Apart from music, Noah enjoys sports and spending time with friends and family.

Seojin Park

Student of Minji Noh

Seojin Park, age 14, from Irvine, California, is a rising 9th-grader at Troy High School. A dedicated and accomplished pianist, he studies piano with Dr. Minji Noh. Some of his performance highlights include playing at Carnegie Hall in New York City as one of the prize winners of the American Protege International Piano Competition and being a soloist with Orchestra Nova LA at the Gala Piano Concerto Concert under Maestro Ivan Shulman.

Seojin's list of accolades includes winning 1st prizes at the Barum International Piano Competition, the Seattle International Piano Virtuoso Festival, and the IAPMT (International Association of Professional Music Teachers) Romantic & Impressionism competition. Most recently, he won 1st prize at the CAPMT OC & JCM Young Musicians Concerto Competition and 2nd prize in the SoCalPhil Young Artists Solo Competition. In addition to competing, Seojin has had the privilege of participating in masterclasses with renowned pianists Robert Thies and Kevin Fitzgerald. Also an avid chamber musician, Seojin has been in the Junior Chamber Music (JCM) Honors program for the past two seasons.

Beyond his musical pursuits, Seojin has a strong passion for science. In 2023, he won 1st place in Solar System at the Science Olympiad State Competition held at Caltech. He continued his success in 2024 by securing 1st place in Meteorology and 2nd place in Reach for the Stars Science Olympiad competitions.

William Lin

Student of Yuki Mori & Min Jung Park

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William Lin is a rising 8th-grader from Irvine, California. William started playing violin at 5 years old and now is studying at the Mori and Park Violin Studio. In 2019, William had his first violin competition win at Satori Summer Music Festival.

The next year, he won 1st place again at Satori Summer Music Festival and 1st place in Music Teachers’ Association SC. In 2021, William won 1st place in Britain’s GCC 'Best Vivaldi Performance,' received 1st prize in the '2021 American Protege International Competition (Strings),' and performed solo on the stage of Carnegie Hall, NYC. At the 2023 Satori Music Summer Festival, William and his quartet won the Grand Prize (Soriel Music Ensemble Award).

This year, he earned first prize at the Concordia Music Competition and the Concerto Competition of California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT) OC and JCM, and also represented CalASTA's 13-18 age group at their recent state competition. William combines his passion for performing violin, serving the community, and actively participates in mini-recitals at various SoCal elderly centers. Beyond playing violin, William also likes swimming.

About CAPMT

CAPMT is the California state affiliate of Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) of over 1,000 members teaching throughout the state in independent studios, private and public schools, conservatories, colleges and universities.

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About JCM

Offering the highest quality caliber chamber music experience for young musicians.

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