19 string players and ensembles feature among the 38 semi-finalist candidates
Young Concert Artists (YCA) has announced the semi-finalists for the 2026 Susan Wadsworth International Auditions.
38 artists have been selected to advance to the semi-final round on 4-6 November 2026 at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center, New York City. They will perform for the chance to join the YCA Roster either as soloists or as YCA’s ensemble-in-residence. The final round will be held on Sunday 8 November 2026 at Merkin Hall.
Additionally, three laureates will receive $5,000 in career development grants and an invitation to compete in the semi-final round of future audition cycles.
String players feature prominently among the semi-final candidates, many of whom are prizewinners and laureates of recent international competitions. They include violinists Sameer Agrawal, Gabrielle Després, Yeyeong Jin, SoHyun Ko, Masha Lakisova, Tianyou Ma, Christina Nam; violists Katie Liu, Pengxi Zhu, Emad Zolfaghari; cellists Andrew Byun, Yeeun Kang, Haddon Kay, Gaeun Kim, Julia-Hyunji Lee and Olivia Marckx; plus the Dōnum, Candide and Integra quartets.
Semi-finalists of other disciplines include pianists Zach Cheong, Yang (Jack) Gao, Wei Cherry Ge, Samuel Glicklich, Taige Wang, Jialin Yao; clarinetist Anoush Pogossian; flutists Jonah Murphy and Rafael Mendez; guitarist Gwenyth Aggeler; harpist Nadja Dornik; oboist Omer Itzhak Posti; percussionists Meng-Chieh Chiang and John Dawson; sopranos Kerrigan Bigelow and Bridget Esler; mezzo-soprano Sophia Baete; baritone Patrick Wilhelm and the saxophone quartet Blitz.
The jury comprises YCA president Daniel Kellogg, plus founder Susan Wadsworth, Inon Barnatan, Alexander Fiterstein, Martha Gilmer, Jane Glover, Denyce Graves, Hsin-Yun Huang, Nicholas Kitchen, Erin Norton and Paul Watkin.
YCA alumni include violinists Anne Akiko Meyers, Ray Chen, Pinchas Zukerman, Randall Goosby and cellist Zlatomir Fung.
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