The 26th Annual Young Steinway Concert Series will get underway on
Sunday, October 7 in Skokie Public Library's Petty Auditorium. For
twenty-six years the concerts have showcased young people with
extraordinary talent, giving local audiences the chance to enjoy first-class
music close to home. Many of our past performers have gone on to great
achievements as professional musicians, and we are proud to count them as
part of our Young Steinway family.
Concerts begin at 3:00pm in the Petty Auditorium. Free tickets are
distributed on a first-come, first-served basis one-half hour prior to each
performance. Limited seating is available for patrons with disabilities.
Skokie Public Library has sound amplification equipment for the hearing
impaired; receivers can be obtained at the East Circulation Desk.
We invite you to learn more about the accomplishments of this season's
performers, and look forward to seeing you at these wonderful concerts!
Twelve-year-old Susie Koh of Buffalo Grove is homeschooled and studies violin with Almita Vamos and Marko Dreher. She began playing the violin in Israel at age 3½ at the Rubin Conservatory of Music and was a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra at age 7. She has won first place awards in numerous competitions, including the Society of American Musicians, the Illinois Music Teachers National Association, and the Huntington University Annual Concerto Competition.
Andrew Tung, piano
After moving to Vernon Hills from Michigan last summer, Andrew Tung is an eighth grader at Hawthorn Middle School South. Thirteen years old, Andrew studies piano with Emilio del Rosario at the Music Institute of Chicago. He has also played cello in school orchestra. Andrew played a full solo recital at the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, Michigan in June 2006 and has won honors in numerous competitions, including those sponsored by the Michigan Music Teachers Association and the University of Michigan Bach Festival. When not practicing piano, he enjoys playing soccer and video games.
Sixteen-year-old homeschooled student Jaimie Sachay began her musical studies at age three playing the violin at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Two years ago, while studying with her current teacher Desiree Ruhstrat, she discovered that she had a greater love for playing the viola and has been applying her talents to that instrument since. Jaimie has also studied piano and harp. She plays principal viola for the Northern Illinois Community School of the Arts Youth Sinfonia and is a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Encore Chamber Orchestra. Last December, Jaimie was awarded first place in the Northern Illinois University Community School of the Arts Youth Sinfonia Concerto Competition.
Macie Stewart, piano
Macie Stewart is 14 years old and a freshman at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago. She has been playing piano since she was four years old and studies with Regina Syrkin at DePaul Community Music Center. Macie has received a number of first-place awards in the DePaul Spring Festivals and Sonata/Sonatina Competitions. She also won a second-place award in the 2006 Illinois State Music Teachers Association Junior High School Music Auditions. Macie also plays classical violin and Irish fiddle and loves to act and sing for Edge of the Wood Musical Theater.
Fifteen-year-old Matthew Brueggeman lives in Lake Forest and is homeschooled. He studies piano with S. Marjorie Delaplane. Matthew has received high scores the past two years in the Roberta Savler Piano Contest at Roosevelt University and gold (2006) and silver (2005) medals in the Sonata/Sonatina Festival sponsored by the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association. Matthew also enjoys choral and solo singing and has appeared in a 2005 production of Amahl and the Night Visitors as Amahl. His nonmusical interests include fly fishing, fresh water aquariums, camping, and fencing.
Katharine Owens, cello
A senior at Lake Forest High School, where she is principal cellist in the Symphony Orchestra, Katharine Owens has been playing cello for eight years. She studies with Gilda Barston and is a member of the Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago. Katharine won first and second prizes in the string division of her high school’s Music Honors Competition during the past two years and won the Highland Park Music Club’s scholarship competition. Also a singer, Katharine served as student leader of Bel Canto Singers for two years and is a member of her school’s Madrigal Singers.
Kastner-Petroff Duo
Fifth graders Gallia Kastner (violin) and Yoan Ganev (piano) have been playing chamber music together as a duo and in a trio for a year. Gallia is a student of the Calvert School in Arlington Heights and studies with Almita and Roland Vamos. Yoan is also in fifth grade, at McCarty Elementary School in Aurora. He studies with Emilio del Rosario. Yoan began his musical studies in Bulgaria and also studies organ with Margaret Kemper. Gallia has won prizes in the Chinese Fine Arts Society Competition. Both greatly enjoy playing chamber music.
Nuiko Wadden is the most recent member of the janus trio, based out of Brooklyn. With janus, she has performed in a number of New York City venues as well as at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Nuiko is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, studying with Yolanda Kondonassis and Paula Page, respectively.
Nuiko has been a prizewinner in numerous competitions including the 2005 Minnesota Orchestra Competition (WAMSO). She has been recognized in the Ann Adams, ASTA, and American Harp Society competitions. As a soloist she has appeared with the Skokie Valley Symphony, Oberlin Orchestra, and Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra. Originally from Wilmette, Nuiko performs with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) and has appeared several times on the Music in the Loft chamber series, most recently in January 2006. She is currently a substitute for the Houston and San Antonio Symphonies as well as the Houston Grand Opera and Ballet Orchestras, the New World Symphony in Miami, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
Agatha Kielczewski is a senior at Addison Trail High School in Addison. She studies piano with Soyoung Kee, who performed on the Young Steinway Concert Series in 1988. In 2005, Agatha won first prize in the Granquist Music Competition in Geneva and last February won the Oak Lawn Musichorale Scholarhip Contest. She began playing piano at age 5, plays with her school band for school play productions, and plays clarinet in her school band and orchestra. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and has been a Science Olympiad State Qualifier and a member of her school’s math team.
Ryan Meehan, violin
A senior at New Trier High School, 18-year-old Ryan Meehan began playing violin at age 6 and hasn’t looked back since. In addition to performing with the Ridere Quartet (see May 4 concert), Ryan is a member of the New Trier Symphony Orchestra and the Academy Chamber Orchestra at the Music Institute of Chicago. He was concertmaster of the Florida All-State Orchestra in 2006 and has performed as a soloist and in recital in Illinois, Florida, and Italy. Ryan is a student of Almita and Roland Vamos. When not playing the violin, Ryan is an avid reader and writer, and greatly enjoyed meeting kids from many other countries at the Margess International Music Festival of Switzerland.
Twelve-year-old Lauren Tu, a seventh grader at Christian Heritage Academy in Northfield, studies piano with Sueanne Metz. Lauren has performed live on WFMT radio and in the Chinese Fine Arts Society Winner’s Concert at the Chicago Cultural Center. She has received awards in numerous local competitions, including the Walgreens Concerto Competition, where she received Honorable Mention in the Open Junior Division. She attended her very first piano lesson on her sixth birthday. Lauren also plays violin in her school orchestra and spends most of her free time reading, especially fantasy books.
Celine Reyes, violin
A student of Thomas Wermuth at Western Springs School of Talent and Education, 16-year-old Celine Reyes attends Benet Academy as a junior. Celine is a member of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Consort, which toured China in 2005, performing in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong-Xiao. She spent the summer of 2006 at Ithaca College Preludio Violin Camp and was selected to perform on the solo recital. Since starting to study violin at age 5, Celine has already conquered one major challenge as a musician: becoming legally blind as a result of a form of macular degeneration diagnosed when she was in fifth grade. She plans to pursue music her whole life.
Leah Ferguson, a ninth-grader from Wilmette who attends New Trier High School, began playing violin at age 5 and switched to viola at age 10. She studies with Roland Vamos and was awarded a scholarship to the Music Institute of Chicago Academy Program. Leah particularly enjoys playing chamber music and has performed in both string quartets and piano trios. As a member of the Spumoni Piano Trio, she received Honorable Mention in the 2006 International Chamber Music Competition at the New England Conservatory of Music. She is a member of New Trier’s Symphony Orchestra and, for variety, played bassoon in band while in middle school.
Julie Shen, piano
Julie Shen, a freshman at Lake Forest High School, began playing the piano at age 6 as a student of Tatyana Mytnik. Two years ago, she became the student of Regina Syrkin at the Lake Forest Symphony Music School. Julie has won prizes at several piano competitions, including the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association Sonata Festival, the DePaul University Concerto Festival, and the Lake Forest Symphony Music School Young Artist Competition. Julie also plays the flute and is a member of her school’s symphonic band and jazz band. She also enjoys volleyball and swimming.
An eighth grader at Wood Oaks Junior High School in Northbrook, Stella Tu began playing piano at age eight. She studies with Emilio del Rosario and has won awards in numerous competitions, including winning the Piano Category of the Junior MYA Division in the 2006 Walgreens National Concerto Competition and second place in the 2006 Sejong Music Competition, Junior Division. Stella also plays cello in the Midwest Young Artist Concert Orchestra and holds a Tae Kwon Do Black Belt.
Ridere Quartet Samantha Bennett, violin
Ryan Meehan, violin
Emma Steele, viola
Mindy Park, cello
The Ridere Quartet, a seasoned and vibrant quartet, according to their coach, Almita Vamos, is composed of four high school seniors who are each very accomplished musicians in their own right. The quartet has achieved numerous awards, including winning the 2007 Rembrandt Chamber Music Competition and the 2007 St. Paul (MN) String Quartet Competition and being semifinalists in the 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Samantha and Emma are homeschooled, Ryan attends New Trier High School in Winnetka, and Mindy attends William Fremd High School in Palatine.
Nathan Noh, a tenth grader who lives in Hawthorn Woods, attends Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. He has studied piano with Brenda Huang since he was seven years old. Nathan is a seasoned participant in piano competitions. Most recently, he was a finalist in both the Intermediate and Senior Divisions of the 2007 Society of American Musicians Competition. Other competitions include those sponsored by the Music Teachers National Association, the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, and the West Suburban Symphony High School Concerto Competition.
Trio Pantoum Shelley Liu, violin
Ben Fried, cello
Paul Juhn, piano
Trio Pantoum consists of violinist Shelley Liu, a student at Oak Park and River Forest High School; cellist Ben Fried, a sophomore at Highland Park High School; and pianist Paul Juhn, a sophomore at Vernon Hills High School. The trio is coached by cellist Hans Jorgen Jensen of Northwestern University and the Music Institute of Chicago and has been working together for less than two years. Each member has achieved numerous honors and awards as individual performers.
Twelve-year-old Susie Koh of Buffalo Grove is homeschooled and studies violin with Almita Vamos and Marko Dreher. She began playing the violin in Israel at age 3½ at the Rubin Conservatory of Music and was a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra at age 7. She has won first place awards in numerous competitions, including the Society of American Musicians, the Illinois Music Teachers National Association, and the Huntington University Annual Concerto Competition.
After moving to Vernon Hills from Michigan last summer, Andrew Tung is an eighth grader at Hawthorn Middle School South. Thirteen years old, Andrew studies piano with Emilio del Rosario at the Music Institute of Chicago. He has also played cello in school orchestra. Andrew played a full solo recital at the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, Michigan in June 2006 and has won honors in numerous competitions, including those sponsored by the Michigan Music Teachers Association and the University of Michigan Bach Festival. When not practicing piano, he enjoys playing soccer and video games.
Sixteen-year-old homeschooled student Jaimie Sachay began her musical studies at age three playing the violin at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Two years ago, while studying with her current teacher Desiree Ruhstrat, she discovered that she had a greater love for playing the viola and has been applying her talents to that instrument since. Jaimie has also studied piano and harp. She plays principal viola for the Northern Illinois Community School of the Arts Youth Sinfonia and is a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Encore Chamber Orchestra. Last December, Jaimie was awarded first place in the Northern Illinois University Community School of the Arts Youth Sinfonia Concerto Competition.
Macie Stewart is 14 years old and a freshman at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago. She has been playing piano since she was four years old and studies with Regina Syrkin at DePaul Community Music Center. Macie has received a number of first-place awards in the DePaul Spring Festivals and Sonata/Sonatina Competitions. She also won a second-place award in the 2006 Illinois State Music Teachers Association Junior High School Music Auditions. Macie also plays classical violin and Irish fiddle and loves to act and sing for Edge of the Wood Musical Theater.
Fifteen-year-old Matthew Brueggeman lives in Lake Forest and is homeschooled. He studies piano with S. Marjorie Delaplane. Matthew has received high scores the past two years in the Roberta Savler Piano Contest at Roosevelt University and gold (2006) and silver (2005) medals in the Sonata/Sonatina Festival sponsored by the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association. Matthew also enjoys choral and solo singing and has appeared in a 2005 production of Amahl and the Night Visitors as Amahl. His nonmusical interests include fly fishing, fresh water aquariums, camping, and fencing.
A senior at Lake Forest High School, where she is principal cellist in the Symphony Orchestra, Katharine Owens has been playing cello for eight years. She studies with Gilda Barston and is a member of the Academy at the Music Institute of Chicago. Katharine won first and second prizes in the string division of her high school’s Music Honors Competition during the past two years and won the Highland Park Music Club’s scholarship competition. Also a singer, Katharine served as student leader of Bel Canto Singers for two years and is a member of her school’s Madrigal Singers.
Fifth graders Gallia Kastner (violin) and Yoan Ganev (piano) have been playing chamber music together as a duo and in a trio for a year. Gallia is a student of the Calvert School in Arlington Heights and studies with Almita and Roland Vamos. Yoan is also in fifth grade, at McCarty Elementary School in Aurora. He studies with Emilio del Rosario. Yoan began his musical studies in Bulgaria and also studies organ with Margaret Kemper. Gallia has won prizes in the Chinese Fine Arts Society Competition. Both greatly enjoy playing chamber music.
Nuiko Wadden is the most recent member of the janus trio, based out of Brooklyn. With janus, she has performed in a number of New York City venues as well as at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. Nuiko is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, studying with Yolanda Kondonassis and Paula Page, respectively.
Agatha Kielczewski is a senior at Addison Trail High School in Addison. She studies piano with Soyoung Kee, who performed on the Young Steinway Concert Series in 1988. In 2005, Agatha won first prize in the Granquist Music Competition in Geneva and last February won the Oak Lawn Musichorale Scholarhip Contest. She began playing piano at age 5, plays with her school band for school play productions, and plays clarinet in her school band and orchestra. She is also a member of the National Honor Society and has been a Science Olympiad State Qualifier and a member of her school’s math team.
A senior at New Trier High School, 18-year-old Ryan Meehan began playing violin at age 6 and hasn’t looked back since. In addition to performing with the Ridere Quartet (see May 4 concert), Ryan is a member of the New Trier Symphony Orchestra and the Academy Chamber Orchestra at the Music Institute of Chicago. He was concertmaster of the Florida All-State Orchestra in 2006 and has performed as a soloist and in recital in Illinois, Florida, and Italy. Ryan is a student of Almita and Roland Vamos. When not playing the violin, Ryan is an avid reader and writer, and greatly enjoyed meeting kids from many other countries at the Margess International Music Festival of Switzerland.
Twelve-year-old Lauren Tu, a seventh grader at Christian Heritage Academy in Northfield, studies piano with Sueanne Metz. Lauren has performed live on WFMT radio and in the Chinese Fine Arts Society Winner’s Concert at the Chicago Cultural Center. She has received awards in numerous local competitions, including the Walgreens Concerto Competition, where she received Honorable Mention in the Open Junior Division. She attended her very first piano lesson on her sixth birthday. Lauren also plays violin in her school orchestra and spends most of her free time reading, especially fantasy books.
A student of Thomas Wermuth at Western Springs School of Talent and Education, 16-year-old Celine Reyes attends Benet Academy as a junior. Celine is a member of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Consort, which toured China in 2005, performing in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong-Xiao. She spent the summer of 2006 at Ithaca College Preludio Violin Camp and was selected to perform on the solo recital. Since starting to study violin at age 5, Celine has already conquered one major challenge as a musician: becoming legally blind as a result of a form of macular degeneration diagnosed when she was in fifth grade. She plans to pursue music her whole life.
Leah Ferguson, a ninth-grader from Wilmette who attends New Trier High School, began playing violin at age 5 and switched to viola at age 10. She studies with Roland Vamos and was awarded a scholarship to the Music Institute of Chicago Academy Program. Leah particularly enjoys playing chamber music and has performed in both string quartets and piano trios. As a member of the Spumoni Piano Trio, she received Honorable Mention in the 2006 International Chamber Music Competition at the New England Conservatory of Music. She is a member of New Trier’s Symphony Orchestra and, for variety, played bassoon in band while in middle school.
Julie Shen, a freshman at Lake Forest High School, began playing the piano at age 6 as a student of Tatyana Mytnik. Two years ago, she became the student of Regina Syrkin at the Lake Forest Symphony Music School. Julie has won prizes at several piano competitions, including the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association Sonata Festival, the DePaul University Concerto Festival, and the Lake Forest Symphony Music School Young Artist Competition. Julie also plays the flute and is a member of her school’s symphonic band and jazz band. She also enjoys volleyball and swimming.
An eighth grader at Wood Oaks Junior High School in Northbrook, Stella Tu began playing piano at age eight. She studies with Emilio del Rosario and has won awards in numerous competitions, including winning the Piano Category of the Junior MYA Division in the 2006 Walgreens National Concerto Competition and second place in the 2006 Sejong Music Competition, Junior Division. Stella also plays cello in the Midwest Young Artist Concert Orchestra and holds a Tae Kwon Do Black Belt.
The Ridere Quartet, a seasoned and vibrant quartet, according to their coach, Almita Vamos, is composed of four high school seniors who are each very accomplished musicians in their own right. The quartet has achieved numerous awards, including winning the 2007 Rembrandt Chamber Music Competition and the 2007 St. Paul (MN) String Quartet Competition and being semifinalists in the 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Samantha and Emma are homeschooled, Ryan attends New Trier High School in Winnetka, and Mindy attends William Fremd High School in Palatine.
Nathan Noh, a tenth grader who lives in Hawthorn Woods, attends Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. He has studied piano with Brenda Huang since he was seven years old. Nathan is a seasoned participant in piano competitions. Most recently, he was a finalist in both the Intermediate and Senior Divisions of the 2007 Society of American Musicians Competition. Other competitions include those sponsored by the Music Teachers National Association, the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, and the West Suburban Symphony High School Concerto Competition.
Trio Pantoum consists of violinist Shelley Liu, a student at Oak Park and River Forest High School; cellist Ben Fried, a sophomore at Highland Park High School; and pianist Paul Juhn, a sophomore at Vernon Hills High School. The trio is coached by cellist Hans Jorgen Jensen of Northwestern University and the Music Institute of Chicago and has been working together for less than two years. Each member has achieved numerous honors and awards as individual performers.