The 27th Annual Young Steinway Concert Series will get underway on
Sunday, September 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!
September 7, 2008
Amy Kim, cello
Amy Kim, a senior at Lake Forest Academy, began studying cello at age 5 in Korea, where she lived until coming to the United States in sixth grade. She is currently studying with Cecelia Ham. Amy attended Meadowmount School of Music last summer, where she worked with Hans Jørgen Jensen of Northwestern University. She is a member of the Elysium Quartet, coached by Gerardo Ribeiro, through Midwest Young Artists. As a result of winning the Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Amy performed the Saint Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 with that orchestra in 2007. She placed first in the senior division of the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius in 2006. Amy is also a long-distance runner and hopes to study chemical engineering in college.
Matthew Scherer, piano
A freshman at New Trier High School, Matthew Scherer has been studying piano for the past 11 years. His current teacher is Soo Young Lee. Matthew has won awards in numerous competitions, including the Granquist Music Competition, the Sejong Music Competition, and the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Piano Competition. He recently performed in a masterclass with Theodore Edel of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Matthew has also been a competitive swimmer since he was 6 years old and is an active member of the New Trier Swim Club and the New Trier High School Swim Team.
October 5, 2008
Amy Pikler, recorder and viola
Amy Pikler, a sophomore at New Trier High School, began her musical studies at the age of 5. Amy studies violin and viola with Desiree Ruhstrat and recorder with Patrick O’Malley at the Music Institute of Chicago. In December 2006, Amy won both the Strings and Early Music Categories of the MYA Junior Division, and in 2007 won the Early Music Category of the MYA Senior Division in the Walgreens National Concerto Competition. She has appeared as soloist with the Sewanee (Tennessee) Festival Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, North Suburban Symphony, Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest, and Knox-Galesburg Symphony. Amy also enjoys learning sign language.
Takuma Tateishi, piano
A senior at Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook resident Takuma Tateishi had his first piano lesson at the age of 4. His current teacher is Tatyana Stepanova. Takuma won second place in the senior division of the Society of American Musicians 2008 piano competition this past spring and won first place in the northeast area in the 2007 Illinois State Music Teachers Association piano competition. Takuma is interested in pursuing the medical profession in the future.
November 2, 2008
Andrea Jarrett, violin
Andrea Jarrett, 17, is a member of the Music Institute of Chicago's Academy program. She commutes to the campus each weekend from her hometown of Saline, Michigan. A student of Almita Vamos, Andrea has been a soloist with the Toledo, Birmingham-Bloomfield (Michigan), and Dearborn (Michigan) symphony orchestras as first-place winner of their young artist concerto competitions. She was the second-place winner in the 2008 Society of American Musicians' Competition and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Midwest Young Artist Walgreens National Concerto Competition. Andrea is also a member of Quartet Polaris, which recently won the Gold Medal in the Junior Division of the 2008 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
Magnus Villanueva, piano
Magnus Villanueva of Chicago is a junior at St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School. He started piano lessons at age 5 and has since won prizes at such competitions as the Granquist Music Competition, Roberta Savler Piano Contest, and the American Guild of Music. Magnus currently studies with Emilio del Rosario and Ralph Neiweem at the Music Institute of Chicago. Magnus is also a recipient of the Alice S. Pfaelzer Scholarship at Merit School of Music. He performed recently at the Pitten International Music Festival in Austria. Magnus plays trumpet in his school orchestra. His other interests include cooking and playing video games and racquetball.
Our alumna for this concert season is Soyoung Kee of Elk Grove Village, who debuted on the Young Steinway Concert Series in 1988. She is on the faculty of Elmhurst College and Aurora University. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music with high distinction in piano performance, and then earned an Artist Diploma in piano performance at Indiana University and a doctorate at Northwestern University. Soyoung’s teachers have included Panayis Lyras, Menahem Pressler, Lev Vlassenko, Neliata True, and Emilio del Rosario. She has performed with the Indiana Philharmonic, Northwestern Symphony Orchestra, Kankakee Symphony, and others. She also maintains an active private piano studio and is an adjudicator for many local piano competitions.
Edward Moore, a Chicago resident, plays with a number of area orchestras, including the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra and Ravinia Festival Orchestra, and is principal cellist of the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble. Since 1997, he has been a member of the faculty at Elmhurst College. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and Master of Music degree from the State University of New York. His teachers included renowned cellists Janos Starker and Bernard Greenhouse. In addition to his musical career, he is an award-winning author whose literary work has been broadcast on Chicago Public Radio.
December 7, 2008
Gallia Kastner, violin
Eleven-year-old Gallia Kastner, a sixth grader at St. James Catholic School in Arlington Heights, began studying violin at age 5 with Betty Haag-Kuhnke. She is now studying with Almita Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago and participating in the Junior Academy program there. In May 2008, Gallia was a featured soloist with the Northshore Chamber Orchestra at Alice Millar Chapel in Evanston, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. She also performed as part of a chamber group on last season’s Young Steinway Concert Series. Gallia won first-place awards in 2007 competitions of the Chinese Fine Arts Society and the Sejong Cultural Society. She also enjoys swimming, biking, and singing in the youth choir at her church.
Lauren Peacock, cello
Lauren Peacock, age 17, is a senior at Libertyville High School. She started playing the cello at age 5 and is currently studying at the Music Institute of Chicago with Gilda Barston. Lauren was awarded first place in the intermediate division of the Society of American Musicians competition in 2006 and received honorable mention in the senior division in 2008. In 2007 and 2008, she was selected for the Illinois Music Educators Association’s All-State Honors Orchestra. Also in 2007, Lauren was chosen to perform in the Honor Orchestra of America, where she was principal cellist. She is a member of the Academy program at the Music Institute of Chicago. Lauren performed live on WFMT in 2008 with a chamber group from the Academy. She is also a member of Libertyville High School's Symphony and Chamber orchestras.
January 4, 2009
Sarah Bloethe, viola
A senior at Buffalo Grove High School, Sarah Bloethe derives great enjoyment from playing the viola. She studies with Desiree Ruhstrat at the Music Institute of Chicago. Sarah is principal violist of her school's Symphony Orchestra and the District 214 Honors Orchestra and is an active participant in American Chamber Strings. She has participated in masterclasses with Carol Ou, Andre Watts, Vivian Weilerstein, Barry Snyder, and Michael Strauss. In addition to playing viola, Sarah is an active member in Science Olympiad, Scholastic Bowl, and Math team, and has garnered many awards in these activities. She has also studied piano with Emilio del Rosario.
Trenton Takaki, piano
Trenton Takaki, age 13, is an eighth grader at Wilmette Junior High School. A student of Sueanne Metz, he has received first-place awards in many competitions: the Society of American Musicians Competition, the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, the North Shore Music Teacher’s Association, the Granquist Music Competition, the Roberta Savler Piano Contest, the Chicago Area Music Teachers Sonata-Sonatina Festival, and the Illinois Music Association Memorial Competition. Trenton has also received awards in competitions in Milwaukee and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was recorded by WFMT’s classical music radio station in February 2007, when he was a second-place winner in the 17th Steinway Young Artists competition. Trenton also plays travel soccer, baseball, and basketball, and is an avid Cubs fan.
February 1, 2009
Ethan Hoppe, violin
Ethan Hoppe is 16 years old and a junior in the International Baccalaureate program at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. The youngest of five children, Ethan enjoys playing chamber music and jamming with his siblings and parents. He has studied violin for 12 years and also plays piano, trumpet, viola, and drum set, as well as varsity soccer and varsity tennis. A member of the Academy program of the Music Institute of Chicago, Ethan studies with Almita Vamos and Marko Dreher. He spent last summer performing on violin and viola at Okemo Young Artists Program (Ludlow, Vermont) and Astona International Summer Music Academy (Zuoz, Switzerland), and his performances have been broadcast on Vermont Public Television.
Trio Bravo Jorie Butler-Geyer, violin
Hannah Kay, piano
James Gan Stinehart, cello
Trio Bravo, part of the Chamber Music Program of Midwest Young Artists, consists of three ninth-graders who clearly love playing chamber music together. Violinist Jorie Butler-Geyer and pianist Hannah Kay attend Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, and cellist James Gan Stinehart attends New Trier High School in Northfield. Trio Bravo has been featured in concerts at Symphony Center and the Art Institute of Chicago, among many other appearances. Each trio member is also very active in solo and orchestral playing. In addition to their primary instruments, Hannah also plays violin and James plays piano.
March 1, 2009
Ethan Campbell, piano
A freshman at Maine South High School, 14-year-old Ethan Campbell of Park Ridge has played piano for 8 years, studying under Andrea Schneider, a Young Steinway Concert Series alumna from 1988. Ethan, as a winner of the DePaul University Concerto Festival, performed last year as a guest soloist with the Oistrach Symphony Orchestra. He has received awards in several levels of the Roberta Savler Piano Contest and attended Interlochen summer music camp in 2007. In addition, he has enjoyed studying jazz piano with Kent Wehman and plans to participate in his high school jazz band this year. Ethan also plays double bass in the Maine South String Orchestra. His principal interest outside music is aviation.
Liaht Slobodkin, violin
Liaht Slobodkin is a student of Thomas Wermuth at the Western Springs School of Talent Education. She has toured China with the Chicago Consort and was a soloist with the Chicago Consort in the Czech Republic and Germany, and on their most recent CD. She is a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and is looking forward to touring South America with that orchestra next year. She is an honors student and member of the Symphony Orchestra at Oak Park River Forest High School, where she is a sophomore, and she has toured Italy with that orchestra. Liaht is an avid reader, writes for her high-school newspaper, and has a strong interest in social justice.
April 5, 2009
Matar-Itai Batyonathan, guitar
Matar, a 16-year-old Israeli-American classical guitarist, currently studies with Denis Azabagic of Roosevelt University and Mark Maxwell as a member of the Academy program at the Music Institute of Chicago. He has received numerous awards and scholarships, most notably the Steve Vai scholarship to the National Guitar Workshop in 2007. He won first place in the 2008 Society of American Musicians Competition, and was the first guitarist to be among the winners of the Peabody Institute’s Preparatory Honors Competition. He has also been a first-prize winner and first runner-up to the grand prize in the Marlin-Engel Instrumental and Marlow Guitar Competitions, respectively. Beyond playing masterclasses with notable guitarists, home-schooled Matar enjoys studying Japanese, reading, cinema, and his beloved cat, Ruby.
Frank Wu, piano
A sophomore at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Frank Wu has been playing piano since he was 5 years old. He currently studies with Brenda Huang. Frank has been awarded prizes in numerous competitions, including first place in the intermediate division of the 2007 Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, the piano category winner in the 2006 Walgreens National Concerto Competition, and first place in the intermediate division of the 2007 North Shore Music Teachers Association Competition. He also plays flute in his school band, piano in the school’s jazz band, and has accompanied the school choir in concert. Frank enjoys science projects, Tai Chi, and reading for fun.
May 3 , 2009
Andy Guo, piano
Andy Guo, a freshman at Highland Park High School, studies with Soo Young Lee. He won first prize in the 2008 Roberta Savler Piano Contest sponsored by the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association, won a gold medal in the 2007 North Shore Music Teachers Association Sonata Festival, and won first prize in the Olympic Level of the 2006 Granquist Music Competition. He prepared a complete solo recital program in fall 2008, which he performed at various venues, including the Northbrook Public Library and the King Home in Evanston. When he is not playing piano, Andy enjoys ice hockey, swimming, camping, and video games. He has been playing on a travel league ice hockey team for four years.
Lydia Umlauf, violin
Seventeen-year-old Lydia Umlauf, of Rensselaer, Indiana, commutes to the North Shore each Saturday to study with Desiree Ruhstrat and participate in the Academy program of the Music Institute of Chicago. Lydia won the Muncie (Indiana) Symphony Young Artist Competition in 2008 and performed a movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with that orchestra in March 2008. She has also performed solos with the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra’s Mary Hannah Children’s Concert Series and the Northwest Indiana Youth Orchestra, is a regular member of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, and spent 7 years playing with the Northwest Indiana Youth Orchestra, several of those years as concertmaster. Lydia has also started her own violin studio and is currently teaching six students each week.
Amy Kim, a senior at Lake Forest Academy, began studying cello at age 5 in Korea, where she lived until coming to the United States in sixth grade. She is currently studying with Cecelia Ham. Amy attended Meadowmount School of Music last summer, where she worked with Hans Jørgen Jensen of Northwestern University. She is a member of the Elysium Quartet, coached by Gerardo Ribeiro, through Midwest Young Artists. As a result of winning the Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, Amy performed the Saint Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 with that orchestra in 2007. She placed first in the senior division of the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius in 2006. Amy is also a long-distance runner and hopes to study chemical engineering in college.
A freshman at New Trier High School, Matthew Scherer has been studying piano for the past 11 years. His current teacher is Soo Young Lee. Matthew has won awards in numerous competitions, including the Granquist Music Competition, the Sejong Music Competition, and the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Piano Competition. He recently performed in a masterclass with Theodore Edel of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Matthew has also been a competitive swimmer since he was 6 years old and is an active member of the New Trier Swim Club and the New Trier High School Swim Team.
Amy Pikler, a sophomore at New Trier High School, began her musical studies at the age of 5. Amy studies violin and viola with Desiree Ruhstrat and recorder with Patrick O’Malley at the Music Institute of Chicago. In December 2006, Amy won both the Strings and Early Music Categories of the MYA Junior Division, and in 2007 won the Early Music Category of the MYA Senior Division in the Walgreens National Concerto Competition. She has appeared as soloist with the Sewanee (Tennessee) Festival Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, North Suburban Symphony, Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest, and Knox-Galesburg Symphony. Amy also enjoys learning sign language.
A senior at Glenbrook North High School, Northbrook resident Takuma Tateishi had his first piano lesson at the age of 4. His current teacher is Tatyana Stepanova. Takuma won second place in the senior division of the Society of American Musicians 2008 piano competition this past spring and won first place in the northeast area in the 2007 Illinois State Music Teachers Association piano competition. Takuma is interested in pursuing the medical profession in the future.
Andrea Jarrett, 17, is a member of the Music Institute of Chicago's Academy program. She commutes to the campus each weekend from her hometown of Saline, Michigan. A student of Almita Vamos, Andrea has been a soloist with the Toledo, Birmingham-Bloomfield (Michigan), and Dearborn (Michigan) symphony orchestras as first-place winner of their young artist concerto competitions. She was the second-place winner in the 2008 Society of American Musicians' Competition and received an honorable mention in the 2007 Midwest Young Artist Walgreens National Concerto Competition. Andrea is also a member of Quartet Polaris, which recently won the Gold Medal in the Junior Division of the 2008 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
Magnus Villanueva of Chicago is a junior at St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School. He started piano lessons at age 5 and has since won prizes at such competitions as the Granquist Music Competition, Roberta Savler Piano Contest, and the American Guild of Music. Magnus currently studies with Emilio del Rosario and Ralph Neiweem at the Music Institute of Chicago. Magnus is also a recipient of the Alice S. Pfaelzer Scholarship at Merit School of Music. He performed recently at the Pitten International Music Festival in Austria. Magnus plays trumpet in his school orchestra. His other interests include cooking and playing video games and racquetball.
Our alumna for this concert season is Soyoung Kee of Elk Grove Village, who debuted on the Young Steinway Concert Series in 1988. She is on the faculty of Elmhurst College and Aurora University. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music with high distinction in piano performance, and then earned an Artist Diploma in piano performance at Indiana University and a doctorate at Northwestern University. Soyoung’s teachers have included Panayis Lyras, Menahem Pressler, Lev Vlassenko, Neliata True, and Emilio del Rosario. She has performed with the Indiana Philharmonic, Northwestern Symphony Orchestra, Kankakee Symphony, and others. She also maintains an active private piano studio and is an adjudicator for many local piano competitions.
Edward Moore, a Chicago resident, plays with a number of area orchestras, including the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra and Ravinia Festival Orchestra, and is principal cellist of the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble. Since 1997, he has been a member of the faculty at Elmhurst College. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and Master of Music degree from the State University of New York. His teachers included renowned cellists Janos Starker and Bernard Greenhouse. In addition to his musical career, he is an award-winning author whose literary work has been broadcast on Chicago Public Radio.
Eleven-year-old Gallia Kastner, a sixth grader at St. James Catholic School in Arlington Heights, began studying violin at age 5 with Betty Haag-Kuhnke. She is now studying with Almita Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago and participating in the Junior Academy program there. In May 2008, Gallia was a featured soloist with the Northshore Chamber Orchestra at Alice Millar Chapel in Evanston, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. She also performed as part of a chamber group on last season’s Young Steinway Concert Series. Gallia won first-place awards in 2007 competitions of the Chinese Fine Arts Society and the Sejong Cultural Society. She also enjoys swimming, biking, and singing in the youth choir at her church.
Lauren Peacock, age 17, is a senior at Libertyville High School. She started playing the cello at age 5 and is currently studying at the Music Institute of Chicago with Gilda Barston. Lauren was awarded first place in the intermediate division of the Society of American Musicians competition in 2006 and received honorable mention in the senior division in 2008. In 2007 and 2008, she was selected for the Illinois Music Educators Association’s All-State Honors Orchestra. Also in 2007, Lauren was chosen to perform in the Honor Orchestra of America, where she was principal cellist. She is a member of the Academy program at the Music Institute of Chicago. Lauren performed live on WFMT in 2008 with a chamber group from the Academy. She is also a member of Libertyville High School's Symphony and Chamber orchestras.
A senior at Buffalo Grove High School, Sarah Bloethe derives great enjoyment from playing the viola. She studies with Desiree Ruhstrat at the Music Institute of Chicago. Sarah is principal violist of her school's Symphony Orchestra and the District 214 Honors Orchestra and is an active participant in American Chamber Strings. She has participated in masterclasses with Carol Ou, Andre Watts, Vivian Weilerstein, Barry Snyder, and Michael Strauss. In addition to playing viola, Sarah is an active member in Science Olympiad, Scholastic Bowl, and Math team, and has garnered many awards in these activities. She has also studied piano with Emilio del Rosario.
Trenton Takaki, age 13, is an eighth grader at Wilmette Junior High School. A student of Sueanne Metz, he has received first-place awards in many competitions: the Society of American Musicians Competition, the Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, the North Shore Music Teacher’s Association, the Granquist Music Competition, the Roberta Savler Piano Contest, the Chicago Area Music Teachers Sonata-Sonatina Festival, and the Illinois Music Association Memorial Competition. Trenton has also received awards in competitions in Milwaukee and in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He was recorded by WFMT’s classical music radio station in February 2007, when he was a second-place winner in the 17th Steinway Young Artists competition. Trenton also plays travel soccer, baseball, and basketball, and is an avid Cubs fan.
Ethan Hoppe is 16 years old and a junior in the International Baccalaureate program at Lincoln Park High School in Chicago. The youngest of five children, Ethan enjoys playing chamber music and jamming with his siblings and parents. He has studied violin for 12 years and also plays piano, trumpet, viola, and drum set, as well as varsity soccer and varsity tennis. A member of the Academy program of the Music Institute of Chicago, Ethan studies with Almita Vamos and Marko Dreher. He spent last summer performing on violin and viola at Okemo Young Artists Program (Ludlow, Vermont) and Astona International Summer Music Academy (Zuoz, Switzerland), and his performances have been broadcast on Vermont Public Television.
Trio Bravo, part of the Chamber Music Program of Midwest Young Artists, consists of three ninth-graders who clearly love playing chamber music together. Violinist Jorie Butler-Geyer and pianist Hannah Kay attend Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, and cellist James Gan Stinehart attends New Trier High School in Northfield. Trio Bravo has been featured in concerts at Symphony Center and the Art Institute of Chicago, among many other appearances. Each trio member is also very active in solo and orchestral playing. In addition to their primary instruments, Hannah also plays violin and James plays piano.
A freshman at Maine South High School, 14-year-old Ethan Campbell of Park Ridge has played piano for 8 years, studying under Andrea Schneider, a Young Steinway Concert Series alumna from 1988. Ethan, as a winner of the DePaul University Concerto Festival, performed last year as a guest soloist with the Oistrach Symphony Orchestra. He has received awards in several levels of the Roberta Savler Piano Contest and attended Interlochen summer music camp in 2007. In addition, he has enjoyed studying jazz piano with Kent Wehman and plans to participate in his high school jazz band this year. Ethan also plays double bass in the Maine South String Orchestra. His principal interest outside music is aviation.
Liaht Slobodkin is a student of Thomas Wermuth at the Western Springs School of Talent Education. She has toured China with the Chicago Consort and was a soloist with the Chicago Consort in the Czech Republic and Germany, and on their most recent CD. She is a member of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and is looking forward to touring South America with that orchestra next year. She is an honors student and member of the Symphony Orchestra at Oak Park River Forest High School, where she is a sophomore, and she has toured Italy with that orchestra. Liaht is an avid reader, writes for her high-school newspaper, and has a strong interest in social justice.
Matar, a 16-year-old Israeli-American classical guitarist, currently studies with Denis Azabagic of Roosevelt University and Mark Maxwell as a member of the Academy program at the Music Institute of Chicago. He has received numerous awards and scholarships, most notably the Steve Vai scholarship to the National Guitar Workshop in 2007. He won first place in the 2008 Society of American Musicians Competition, and was the first guitarist to be among the winners of the Peabody Institute’s Preparatory Honors Competition. He has also been a first-prize winner and first runner-up to the grand prize in the Marlin-Engel Instrumental and Marlow Guitar Competitions, respectively. Beyond playing masterclasses with notable guitarists, home-schooled Matar enjoys studying Japanese, reading, cinema, and his beloved cat, Ruby.
A sophomore at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Frank Wu has been playing piano since he was 5 years old. He currently studies with Brenda Huang. Frank has been awarded prizes in numerous competitions, including first place in the intermediate division of the 2007 Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, the piano category winner in the 2006 Walgreens National Concerto Competition, and first place in the intermediate division of the 2007 North Shore Music Teachers Association Competition. He also plays flute in his school band, piano in the school’s jazz band, and has accompanied the school choir in concert. Frank enjoys science projects, Tai Chi, and reading for fun.
Andy Guo, a freshman at Highland Park High School, studies with Soo Young Lee. He won first prize in the 2008 Roberta Savler Piano Contest sponsored by the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association, won a gold medal in the 2007 North Shore Music Teachers Association Sonata Festival, and won first prize in the Olympic Level of the 2006 Granquist Music Competition. He prepared a complete solo recital program in fall 2008, which he performed at various venues, including the Northbrook Public Library and the King Home in Evanston. When he is not playing piano, Andy enjoys ice hockey, swimming, camping, and video games. He has been playing on a travel league ice hockey team for four years.
Seventeen-year-old Lydia Umlauf, of Rensselaer, Indiana, commutes to the North Shore each Saturday to study with Desiree Ruhstrat and participate in the Academy program of the Music Institute of Chicago. Lydia won the Muncie (Indiana) Symphony Young Artist Competition in 2008 and performed a movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with that orchestra in March 2008. She has also performed solos with the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra’s Mary Hannah Children’s Concert Series and the Northwest Indiana Youth Orchestra, is a regular member of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, and spent 7 years playing with the Northwest Indiana Youth Orchestra, several of those years as concertmaster. Lydia has also started her own violin studio and is currently teaching six students each week.