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The Young Concert Artists (YCA) announced its 2023 winners at the conclusion of the final round of the annual Susan Wadsworth International Audition on Saturday 11 November at Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center in Manhattan, New York City, US. Of the twelve finalists, narrowed down from more than 150 applicants, six musicians were selected to join the roster as YCA Jacobs Fellows. The 2023 winners are guitar duo Ziggy & Miles, cellist James Baik, percussionist Michael Yeung, violinist Oliver Neubauer, and cellist Benett Tsai. All six performed at the 2023 YCA Winners Concert the following day on Sunday 12 November at the Gilder Lehrman Hall in the Morgan Library & Museum, New York City.
The YCA Jacobs Fellowship is a three-year program designed to boost the careers of young upcoming artists, helping them to develop their dinstinctive voices and push the boundaries of their artform. The winners will receive mentorship, digital tools, and performance opportunities, as well as assistance in project development and community engagement.
Australian brothers 27-year-old Ziggy and 25-year-old Miles Johnston are artist diploma candidates at the Juilliard School under Sharon Isbin, where they are the first Australians and first guitar duo in the program’s 20-year history to be accepted.
22-year-old American cellist James Baik is currently a bachelor of music candidate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, where he studies with Clive Greensmith. He plays on a cello made by J.B. Vuillaume, on loan from the Ravinia Institute of Music.
26-year-old percussionist Michael Yeung from Hong Kong is completing his studies with Robert van Sice at the Yale School of Music. He is the second-ever percussionist to be admitted to the school’s prestigious artist diploma programme, where each year a singular student is chosen across all instrumental disciplines to pursue the highest-level training for emerging soloists.
23-year-old American violinist Oliver Neubauer attends the Juilliard School, where he is a recipient of the Kovner Fellowship and studies with Li Lin and Donald Weilerstein. He performs on a 1780 J.B. Guadagnini violin, on loan from the Juilliard String Instrument Collection.
20-year-old Australian cellist Benett Tsai is currently an undergraduate student at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he studies with Clive Greensmith.
This year’s jury for the final round comprised Susan Wadsworth, David Starobin, Anne-Marie McDermott, Michael Parloff, Soovin Kim, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Tai Murray, Clive Greensmith, Lise de la Salle, Hanako Yamaguchi, Deborah Borda, and was chaired by Daniel Kellogg. The jury for the preliminary round comprised Robert Belinic, Michael Brown, Colin Carr, Karen Dreyfus, Alan Feinberg, Lois Hicks-Wozniak, Matt Howard, Paul Huang, Ida Kavafian, Daniel Lippel, Karen Lindquist, Todd Palmer, Daniel Panner, Ory Shihor, Alex Sopp, Naoko Takada, and Golda Tatz.
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