2021 NYYVC winners
Sophia Jenkins, 11, cello
$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner
Sophia Jenkins, age 11, began playing cello at the age of 6 and lives in Basking Ridge, NJ. She has played with the New Jersey Youth Symphony and at the Chamber Music Center of New York. Sophia has received awards from the North International Music Competition, the NLPA International Young Artist Competition, the Camerata Artists International Concerto Competition, the International Grande Music Competition, the American Protégé International Concerto Competition, and the Bellegrande International Music Competition. Sophia has participated in the Heifetz Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG) and the Bowdoin International Music Festival. Sophia studies cello with Inbal Segev.
Caden Tan, 11, voice
$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner
Cayden Tan is an 11 year old New Yorker who currently attends 6th Grade at Horace Mann School. He has been studying voice under Sun Young Chang for the past 3 years. Cayden has starred in his school’s musical productions including The Rainbow Fish and Singing in the Rain. He expresses his feelings with others through his passion for music. Furthermore, Cayden has performed numerous times at Carnegie Hall. He received 2nd place for his piano solo at American Protégé Competition and 1st place for his duet at the Crescendo International Competition. Outside of music, Cayden plays tennis and swims competitively.
Nikka Gershman-Pepper, 13, flute
$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner
Nikka Gershman-Pepper is a 13-year-old flutist and composer. She is a first-prize winner in numerous competitions including Rising Stars Grand Prix (Berlin), Flutes by the Sea International Competition, Chicago Flute Club (Senior Division), concerto soloist for the Whittier Regional Symphony, and International Music Competition Bonn "Grand Prize Virtuoso". She is a recipient of a Sir James Galway Merit Scholarship Award and has been chosen to perform in masterclasses with Sir James Galway, Denis Bouriakov, Lorna McGhee, Andrea Griminelli, Emily Beynon, Viviana Guzman, Garrett Hudson, and Ransom Wilson. Nikka’s solo concerts include performances at the Beethoven House, Bonn, Germany, VOS with the LA Jewish Symphony premiering her original composition, New York at the Salon de Virtuosi winter concert, and Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz with the Los Angeles Virtuosi Orchestra. She is currently attending the Pre-Conservatory Program at the Colburn Music Academy under the mentorship of Jim Walker.
Sarah Li, 14, piano
$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner
Sarah Li, 14, is a freshman at Montgomery High School, New Jersey. She first began studying piano at the age of 4 under the tutelage of Tomoko Harada, to which she continues to this day. Sarah developed a passion for music at an early age, making her Carnegie Hall debut at 6. Since then, she has gone on to win numerous piano competitions, including the NLPA National Young Musicians Showcase Competition, New Jersey Federation of Music Clubs Competition, New York Young Performers Prize Competition, Rondo Vanguard Competition, and Steinway Society Classical Competition. Her most recent accomplishments include receiving the grand prize in the 2020 Prima Volta Music Competition, first place in the 2020 New York Young Virtuoso Competition, first place in the 2020 NJFMC Competition, first place in the 2020 NJMTA Young Musicians Competition, silver in the 2021 Musicale Bach and Baroque Music Competition, gold prize in the 2nd International Apex Music Competition, and first prize in the 2021 New York Young Performers Prize Competition. In addition, Sarah was selected twice to have her performances broadcasted on the radio program Kids on Keys from WWFM The Classical Network, and has taken a master class given by renowned pianist Dmitry Rachmanov. Outside of piano, Sarah also enjoys playing violin, reading, and figure skating.
Jisang Kymm, 15, violin
$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner
Jisang Kymm, age 15, is a sophomore at the Horace Mann School in NY. He is a student of the Juilliard School Pre-College Division studying with Yi-Fang Huang and Molly Carr. Jisang is the cash prize winner and the 1st place winner at the Prima Volta Music Competition SE 2021 and a finalist in teen strings at the International Music Grand Prix 2021. He attended the Heifetz International Music Institute in the summer of 2021. Outside of music, Jisang loves to play tennis and table tennis. In his spare time, he spends time with his cat.
Kaylin Chung, 16, violin
$300 Young Virtuoso Prize Winner
Kaylin Chung is currently a junior attending the East Brunswick high school in East Brunswick, New Jersey. She has been playing the violin since she was eight years old and currently studies with Elizabeth Faidley in New York City.
Aside from playing the violin, Kaylin runs on her track and cross-country team. She also loves to study environmental science and is an active member of her school’s SAVE club, which raises awareness about climate change and studies human impacts on the environment. In her free time, she loves to bake, read, and hang out with her friends.
Joel Kim, 16, cello
$200 Best Interpretation Award (NV Factory Recording Voucher)
Joel Kim is a junior at Saratoga High School in California. He started playing cello at the age of 9 with Jonathan Koh of the San Francisco Conservatory. He won first prize at the 2020 BMC Music Competition and the 2020 DVC/HNU Young Artist String Competition. Joel is also enthusiastic about chamber music and attends California Music Preparatory Academy. His chamber groups have won prizes at the US Open Music Competition and IGMC. Joel enjoys giving back to community through Tri-M Music Honor Society and HopeBox Charity Youth Orchestra. Joel participated in the Music@Menlo Young Performers Program 2020 and 2021.
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Evelyn Hwang
8
KOREA
Sohyun Ahn
Leane Kwon
13
NJ
Kay Rhee
Katharine Luo
13
NJ
Gloria Chu
Sarah Li
14
NJ
Tomoko Harada
Alex Wong
14
NJ
Carol Ferri
Claire Jiang
15
NJ
Grace Junghee Yang
Gyuri Kim
17
NJ
Dae Hyung Ahn
Christopher Pan
17
NJ
Chiu-Tze Lin
Tianqi Sun
17
CT
Hanbo Liu
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Angela Butz
11
NJ
Hanbo Liu
Natalie Qian
11
NJ
Chiu-Tze Lin
Ishaan Kumar
12
NJ
Daniella Bracchi
Hannah Zhang
12
NY
Wen-Yi Lo
Jingxin Zhong
13
NJ
Hanbo Liu
Kevin Jin
14
NJ
Gloria Chu
Melissa Lee
15
CA
Irina Bendetsky
Pennie Lu
15
NJ
Hanbo Liu
Yuying Wang
16
NJ
Gloria Chu
Natalie Hahn
17
NY
Donna Weng Friedman
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Serin Oh
8
NY
Daniela Bracchi
Madison Chay
11
NJ
Karen Kim
Sage Rhee
11
NJ
Karen Kim
Melody Keeton
14
CO
Laura Klein
Dana Yun
17
NJ
Victoria Dondysh
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Julia Jang, violin
11
NJ
Jee Sun Lee
Sophia Jenkins, cello
11
NJ
Inbal Segev
Emma Maini, violin
12
CT
Asya Meshberg
Madison Lee, violin
12
NJ
Jungwon Yoon
Junnosuke Yanagisawa, violin
12
CA
Tomomi Matsumoto
Oliver Kahng, violin
13
NJ
Sharon Cho
Calvin Kwon, cello
13
NJ
Jeehyoun Lee
Mia Robarts, violin
13
NJ
Elizabeth Faidley
Jane Lim, violin
14
NY
Patinka Kopec
Soohong Jeon, cello
15
NJ
Jeehyoun Lee
Jisang Kymm, viola
15
NJ
Yi-Fang Huang/ Molly Carr
Momoka Yanagisawa, violin
15
CA
Tomomi Matsumoto
Eric Zhu, viola
15
MA
Andrew Taylor
Kaylin Chung, violin
16
NJ
Elizabeth Faidley
Keitaku Iwata, violin
16
NJ
Elizabeth Faidley
Joel Kim, cello
16
CA
Jonathan Koh
Jennifer Mori, cello
16
CA
Jonathan Koh
Lucas Chang, viola
17
NJ
Anne Ku
Lucas Chen, cello
17
CA
Jonathan Koh
John Zammit, violin
17
NJ
Sherri Anderson
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Shiloh Yi, violin
9
NY
Yejin Han
Elliot Kahng, violin
12
NJ
Sharon Cho
Lois Kim, cello
12
NJ
Jeehyoun Lee
Dana Chung, violin
13
NJ
Jiwon Kim
Emma Pakola, violin
13
NY
Elizabeth Faidley
Amy Xiao, violin
14
NY
Ella Heifets
Chloe Yoon, cello
14
NJ
Jennifer Jeehyoun Lee
Seongil Oh, violin
15
NY
Ye-Jin Han
Claire Kim, cello
16
NJ
Jeehyoun Lee
Andrew Han, viola
17
NJ
Elizabeth Faidley
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Leon Wang, cello
17
NJ
Hyojin Lee
Dana Yun, violin
17
NJ
Ella Heifets
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Irene Lee, oboe
12
NY
Yousun Chung
William Kang, clarinet
13
NJ
Gun Park
Nikka Gershman-Pepper, flute
13
CA
Jim Walker
Sarah Jung, flute
16
NJ
Soo-Kyung Park
Veronica Li, clarinet
17
NJ
Alan Kay
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Christopher Hong, bassoon
15
NY
Marc Goldberg
Matthew Kim, clarinet
15
NJ
Geon Park
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Audrey Yan
16
NJ
Amy Tu
Anna Micor
17
IL
Garett George
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Evelyn Kim
3
NY
Joy Son
Cayden Tan
11
NY
Sun Young Chang
Maya Joshi
12
NJ
Amelia DeMayo / Liliana Sotirova
Lily Yezdanian
12
NJ
Amelia DeMayo / Liliana Sotirova
Violet Paris
14
NY
Amelia DeMayo / Liliana Sotirova / Gulnara Mitzanova
Francesca Ricciarini
15
NY
Sun Young Chang
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Ellivia Gold
12
NY
Amelia De Mayo
Hyewon Son
16
NJ
HyeYoung Kang
Shayne Goldstein
17
NJ
Amelia DeMayo
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Charlize Tan
12
NY
Sun Young Chang
TongTong Ye
16
MD
Joyce Lundy
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER
Phillip String Quartet
12
CT
Asya Meshberg
Emma Maini, violin
Aki Takeda, violin
Mio Gogate, viola
Ewan MacLennan, cello
NAME
AGE
STATE
TEACHER