On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 16-year-old pianist Ashley Kim, a junior at New Trier High School. Ashley is a scholarship fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She studies piano with Northwestern Bienen School of Music Professor James Giles and Dr. Matt Hagle. She has performed in many renowned venues including ...

On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 15-year-old cellist Mia Wimbiscus, a sophomore at New Trier High School in Winnetka. Mia is a 4th year Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a training center for gifted pre-college musicians. She began cello studies at age five with her mother. Since the age of nine, she has been a ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 17-year-old violinist Masha Lakisova of Vernon Hills. Masha studies violin at The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division with Li Lin and Itzhak Perlman. She has had the privilege of performing in esteemed concert venues in the United States and around the world. Masha has appeared as a soloist with more than 20 orchestras worldwide such as ...

Claire Arias-Kim, 17, studies violin with Almita Vamos and is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. Claire began her violin studies with Betty Haag at age 3. At 6 years of age, she had the opportunity to perform on tour with the The Magical Strings of Youth in ...

In 2018, Holly earned first place at the Chicago Flute Club Student Competition and  the Kenosha Symphony Youth Concerto Competition. She also received Honorable Mention at the 2017 Midwest Young Artists Walgreens National Concerto Competition. In addition to competing, Holly has been a member of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) for seven years and earned second place in the 2019 ...

On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 17-year-old pianist Kimberly Han. Kimberly is a Steinway Young Artist, a 2016-2018 Lang Lang Young Scholar, a four-year full scholarship recipient of the Chopin Foundation of the United States (2016-2020), and a two-time National YoungArts Foundation winner (2017-2018). She currently studies with Alexander Korsantia (New England Conservatory), and Brenda Huang (Music Institute of Chicago). ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature two ensembles from Merit School of Music to highlight their 37th Annual Performathon. Performathon 2019 takes place on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9 at Merit’s West Loop location. Performathon is a two-day performance and fundraising extravaganza that features over 350 student musicians, and the funds raised from Performathon help ensure that the Alice ...

On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 18-year-old violinist Irina Casasnovas Jilobokov. She is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She studies violin with Almita Vamos. Irina was born in San José, Costa Rica and began studying the violin at age 7. At the age of 9, Irina was ...

On Saturday’s live broadcast and Facebook Live, we feature 17-year-old pianist Alice Zhang of Vernon Hills, Illinois in a program of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and William Bolcom. Alice is a senior at Vernon Hills High School, and she started piano lessons at age four with Brenda Huang. She also studies piano with Eduardus Halim, the Sascha Gorodnitzki Chair of Piano ...

Our last edition of Introductions for 2018 is a musical smorgasbord, featuring highlights from an exciting year of performances given by young Chicago-based musicians and ensembles. We’ll hear from the Chicago Children’s Choir and the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, who gave powerful joint performances as a part of YAS! Fest–the Youth Arts Showcase–in September. We’ll also feature the Latin GRAMMY-Nominated Mariachi ...