Concert Artists Guild Announces 2023 Victor Elmaleh Competition Semi-Finalists
The annual audition is open to outstanding young instrumental soloists and ensembles of any nationality, who do not currently have management representation
The Concert Artists Guild (CAG) recently named the semi-finalists for the 2023 edition of its Victor Elmaleh Competition. Since commencing over 70 years ago, CAG has helped launch the international careers of over 500 young musicians, including violinists Jennifer Joh, Joseph Lin, Eugene Drucker, and VC Artists Inmo Yang, Yoojing Jang, Geneva Lewis and Alexi Kenney, and groundbreaking ensembles including the Imani Winds, Sybarite 5, Eighth Blackbird, the Pacifica and Parker String Quartets and the VC Artist Verona Quartet.
This year's Grand Prize winners will receive international management in the Americas and Europe jointly with CAG and Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in London, performances at Merkin Hall in New York and Wigmore Hall in London, and the opportunity to participate in the organization's Citizen Musician Bootcamp.
All other winners will receive North American management with CAG, a New York debut performance, and participation in Citizen Musician Bootcamp. For a look at all additional prizes, click here.
"We were so inspired by all the talented musicians who applied this year and are excited to share with you the 31 soloists and 8 ensembles that will continue through to the virtual semifinal round," CAG writes. "Thank you to everyone who applied to this year’s competition!"
The 31 soloists and 8 ensembles who have been selected as semifinalists are as follows:
- Sophia Bacelar, cello
- Nina Bernat, double bass
- Emily Yocum Black, soprano
- Joshua Brown, violin
- Andrew Byun, cello
- Kebra-Seyoun Charles, double bass
- Marguerite Cox, double bass
- Octávio Deluchi, guitar
- Joseph Ehrenpreis, guitar
- Motti Fang-Bentov, piano
- Panagiotis Marios Giannakas, clarinet
- Njioma Chinyere Grevious, violin
- Daniel Hamin Go, cello
- Hilda Huang, piano/harpsichord
- Anna Im, violin
- Annie Jacobs-Perkins, cello
- Donghoon Kang, bass-baritone
- Albert Khoury, guitar
- Leland Ko, cello
- Valentin Kovalev, saxophone
- Shaina Martinez, soprano
- Nathan Meltzer, violin
- Taeguk Mun, cello
- Charles Overton, harp
- Julian Rhee, violin
- Korkmaz Can (Jan) Saglam, piano
- Seiran Tozlian, piano
- Julian Velasco, saxophone
- Derek Wang, piano
- Kendra Wheeler, saxophone
- Zhanbo Zheng, viola
- Abeo Quartet, string quartet
- Astral Mixtape, two violin, cello, and piano/keyboard ensemble
- The Bestfriends Duo, violin and guitar duo
- Dior Quartet, string quartet
- Stanton Street Duo, chromatic harmonica and guitar duo
- Palaver Strings, musician-led chamber orchestra
- Trio Gaia, piano trio
- Ziggy and Miles, guitar duo
The 2023 jury includes Kazem Abdullah, Jenny Bilfield, Adriaan Fuchs, John Glover, Shirley Kirshbaum, Gaetan Le Divelec, Anne Akiko Meyers, and Conrad Tao.
The winners of the 2022 competition were soprano Magdalena Kuźma, the Galvin Cello Quartet, bassoonist Eleni Katz, clarinetist Jonathan Leibovitz, and pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner.
december 2024
january 2025