On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature recordings celebrating the 25th anniversary of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory (MYAC). Based in Highwood, Illinois, MYAC offers numerous programs for pre-college musicians in the Chicago area. MYAC musicians have received national awards, and many have gone on to have successful careers as professional musicians.

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 15-year-old violinist Isabella Brown of Gurnee, Illinois. Isabella is in her third year at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians.  She studies violin with Almita and Roland Vamos as the Rachel Barton Pine Scholar and plays on a Dom Nicolo Marchioni detto ‘Amati’ of Bologna circa 1740, generously on loan to ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature highlight recordings from the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra’s (CYSO) tour to Central Europe. In June 2017, the CYSO embarked on a tour across Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. On June 28, 2017, the orchestra performed in Dvorak Hall, Prague’s concert hall. The orchestra even performed Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, which was premiered in that ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature 14-year-old cellist Manou Magdalena Chakravorty and the Earl Clemens Wind Quintet of the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra. Manou Magdalena Chakravorty is a freshman at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. She started cello at the age of four with Karen Schulz-Harmon and now studies with Richard Hirschl and Oleksa Mycyk. Recently, Manou was a semi-finalist ...

On Saturday’s encore broadcast, we feature two recent graduates of Niles North High School in Skokie: 18 year old violinist Robert Sanders and 17 year old cellist David Caplan. Robert and David have known each other since middle school, and they have performed together for numerous years. Recently, Robert and David won the Gold Medal with their quartet, Quartet Bellezza ...

On Saturday’s live broadcast, we feature 13-year-old cellist Noah Chen from Chicago. Noah is a student of Hans Jorgen Jensen of Northwestern University. Noah was a winner at the 2017 DePaul Concerto Festival, and he was also the winner of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras (CYSO) 2016 Concerto Competition. As a result, he was featured as soloist with the CYSO ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature the winners of the 2017 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. For decades, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has held a competition in order to give the opportunity of a lifetime to a young musician: the ability to perform with the CSO. The competition rotates instrumentation every three years with strings, woodwinds/brass/percussion, and piano. This year ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we celebrate Mexican Independence Day with a program featuring Mariachi Herencia de México, a mariachi ensemble made up of pre-college students from Chicago’s immigrant barrios. The majority of the musicians in the ensemble are classically trained. The group’s debut album, Nuestra Herencia, released in May and hit #2 on iTunes’ Latin chart. The album is believed to be ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature Quartet Bellezza of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory in Highwood, Illinois. Quartet Bellezza was the winner of the Junior Gold Division of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in South Bend, Indiana, one of the most prestigious competitions in the country for young classical musicians. Their members include 15-year-old violinist Masha Lakisova, 18-year-old violinist Robert Sanders, ...

On Saturday’s broadcast, we feature Kartoshka Quartet of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory (MYAC) in Highwood, Illinois. The members of the quartet include 16-year-old violinist Rachel Hsu, 17-year-old violinist Eleanor Goes, 18-year-old violist Sofiya Kyrylyuk, and 18-year-old cellist Julia Ilhardt. They are coached by Desirée Ruhstrat. Kartoshka Quartet was formed at MYAC in 2016 and has performed at numerous community events, ...