The Patricia Tretick Young Artist Competition provides an annual opportunity for talented young musicians to compete for cash prizes and a performance opportunity. Students prepare for months in advance and convene on the campus of Ball State University to perform in front of a panel of expert judges. The competition is open only to Indiana residents in grades 3-12 and undergraduate students enrolled in a college/university in Indiana. There are four divisions, each with its own cash prize and a performance opportunity: Elementary Division (grades 3-5), Ladonna Dingledine Junior Division (grades 6-8), Steve Dingledine Senior Division (grades 9-12), and Collegiate Division (undergraduate students at an Indiana college/university). For more information about Orchestra Indiana, please visit OrchestraIndiana.org

2024 PATRICIA TRETICK YOUNG ARTIST COMPETITION SCHEDULE:

Collegiate Division – Saturday, January 13, 2024, 1:00-4:00 pm

Elementary Division – Sunday, January 14, 2024, 12:00-1:00 pm

Junior Division – Sunday, January 14, 2024, 1:30-3:30 pm

Senior Division – Sunday, January 14, 2024, 4:00-7:00 pm

Patricia Tretick

(1923-2020)

Patricia Stone Tretick’s most indelible mark was her teaching. So many violinists and violists came to her studio and emerged with solid skills and deep musical understanding. As a clinician and adjudicator her commentary was clear, on point but positive, encouraging. And then there were the thousands of Ball State freshmen who attended her famous Music Appreciation 101 lectures and found “Classical” music was not so mysterious, even enjoyable.

Patricia was born and grew up in Colorado, the daughter of Judge Clifford Stone, a chief negotiator of Western States water law, and Marjorie Snyder, a teacher of romance languages at the University of Colorado. Patricia began violin studies at an early age – she recalled taking a narrow gauge railroad trip on her own every six months from the family’s Gunnison home across the mountains to Colorado Springs for lessons, staying with her teacher and his family for a week each visit. She received her B.A. from Vassar College, and a subsequent M.Music from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

After college she joined the Denver Symphony, three years later moving to Phoenix to teach music at Phoenix Junior College and in the public schools. She auditioned for the Phoenix Symphony, and it was there she met her future husband, Sidney Tretick, who was Concertmaster and Associate Conductor of the orchestra at the time. The Treticks married in 1950 and two years later moved to Muncie, Indiana, Sidney having been appointed head of the String Department at Ball State’s School of Music. The couple had five children by 1961, and music lessons were mandatory for them all.

At the sudden death of her husband in 1962, Patricia took up the mantle of his duties at Ball State, teaching Violin, Viola, Music Appreciation, Stringed Instrument Repair, and continuing as a performer in the School’s Ars Musica String Quartet, all the while attending to raising her five children. Her performance activities were myriad: a soloist, recitalist, and Concertmaster or Principal in many orchestras in central Indiana. Summers found her in Colorado, performing in the Central City Opera Orchestra in the years when that festival was the off-season home of the New York Metropolitan Opera. After her retirement from Ball State in 1993, she moved back to Phoenix.

As a mentor and pedagogue, Patricia was committed to fostering musical interest and excellence in her students. Orchestra Indiana’s Young Artist Competition is now renamed in honor of her incredible legacy, and the Tretick family is establishing a memorial fund to support the competition in perpetuity.

Patricia Tretick Young Artist Competition
January 13-14, 2024
Sursa Performance Hall

Collegiate Division, January 13, 1:00 PM 

Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 102  (Dmitri Shostakovich)
I. Allegro                                       

Kaleb Durfee, piano 
Accompanist: Kait O’Hanlon

Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major, K. 313 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
I. Allegro maestoso

Katherine Marx, flute 
Accompanist: Lori Rhoden

The Tale of Taliesin (Martin Romberg)
    I. Taliesin’s Theme
    III. The Escape of Taliesin
    IV. In Ceridwen’s Womb
    XIII. Coda-The End

Mia Traverse, alto saxophone
Accompanist: Amanda Hopson

Fantaisie (Georges Hüe)

Kate Mikels, flute
Accompanist: Margaret Hammond

-Ten-minute Break -

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor (Max Bruch)
    III. Finale – Allegro energico

Dilnaz Kozybakova, violin
Accompanist: Soojin Kim

Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54 (Robert Schumann)
    I. Allegro affettuoso

Christian Urizar, piano
Accompanist: Hamilton Tescarollo

Saxophone Concerto, Op. 14 (Lars Erik-Larsson)
    I. Allegro molto moderato

Aaron Wilson, alto saxophone
Accompanist: Billy Scharfenberger

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 (Sergei Rachmaninoff)
    I. Moderato

Arjun Siderys, piano
Accompanist: Sophia Kim

Collegiate Division Awards Ceremony, tentatively 3:30 pm, on stage 

Elementary Division, January 14, 12:00 PM 
 
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
    I. Allegro

Felicia Xie, piano
Accompanist: Jessica Xie

Concerto No. 5 in D Major (Frederic Seitz)
    I. Allegro moderato

Melody Kim, violin
Accompanist: Phoenix Park-Kim

Piano Concerto No. 8, “Spring Concerto”  (Alexander Peskanov)
    IV. May Rondo

Eason Lin, piano
Accompanist: Galit Gertsenzon

Concerto in G Minor, Op. 12, No. 1 (Antonio Vivaldi)
    II. Adagio
    III. Allegro

Simeon Wilson, violin
Accompanist: TBD

Elementary Division Awards Ceremony, tentatively 12:50 pm, on stage 

Ladonna Dingledine Junior Division, January 14, 1:30 PM 
  
Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25 (Felix Mendelssohn)
    I. Molto allegro con fuoco

Glenda Na, piano
Accompanist: Clare Longendyke

Concerto No. 1 in E Major, Op. 8, RV 269, "Spring" (La primavera)  (Antonio Vivaldi)
    I. Allegro
    II. Largo e pianissimo sempre
    III. Allegro pastorale

Prudence Peng, violin
Accompanist: Ed Moy

Piano Concerto No. 8, “Spring Concerto” (Alexander Peskanov)
    IV. May Rondo

Penelope Scott, piano
Accompanist: Stacey Edwards

Concerto in C Major, Op. 48 (Dmitri Kabalevsky)
    I. Allegro molto e con brio

Alice Zheng, violin
Accompanist: Justin Bartlett

- Ten-minute Break -

Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
    I. Allegro

Zoe Cha, piano
Accompanist: Sophia Kim

Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor (Jean Baptiste Accolay)

Brian Huang, violin
Accompanist: Albrecht von Gaudecker

Concerto No.11 in D Major, Hob. XVIII/11 (Franz Joseph Haydn)
    I. Vivace

Priscilla Scott, piano
Accompanist: Stacey Edwards

Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22 (Camille Saint-Saëns)
    I. Andante sostenuto

Jessica Xie, piano
Accompanist: Felicia Xie

Ladonna Dingledine Junior Division Awards Ceremony, tentatively 3:20 pm, on stage 
 
  

Steve Dingledine Senior Division, January 14, 4:00 PM 
 

Concertstuck, Op. 39 (Gabriel Pierné)

Emma Levesque, harp
Accompanist: Ionna Nikou

Piano Concerto No.1 in G Minor, Op.25 (Felix Mendelssohn)
    III. Presto

Tara Kim, piano
Accompanist: Stacey Edwards

Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 (Max Bruch)
    III. Finale – Allegro energico

Rohan Eapen, violin
Accompanist: Shalin Eapin

Viola Concerto in D Major (Carl Stamitz)
    I. Allegro

Sinead Whelan, viola
Accompanist: Gulrukh Shakirova

Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor (Camille Saint-Saëns)

Maria Tan, cello
Accompanist: Susan Dorion

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, KV. 488 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
    I. Allegro

Kenny Wang, piano
Accompanist: Susan Dorion

- Ten-minute Break -

Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor Op. 26 (Max Bruch)
    III. Finale – Allegro energico

Reah Frydrych, violin
Accompanist: Ionna Nikou

Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs), Op.20, No.1 (Pablo de Sarasate)

Jonah Zimmerman, violin
Accompanist: Susan Dorion

- Ten-minute Break -

Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68 (David Popper)

Catherine Yang, cello
Accompanist: Haruka Ostojic

Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor Op. 26 (Max Bruch)
    III. Finale – Allegro energico

Eishin Hiraishi, violin
Accompanist: Soojin Kim

Steve Dingledine Senior Division Awards Ceremony, tentatively 6:45 pm, on stage 

Steve Alan Hyman MD MM is a retired Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology. A native of Converse, Indiana, he studied piano since age five, beginning with Valeria Howard then Catherine Hiatt in Converse, IN. He later studied with Charles Kuhn (Ball State) and Carolyn Pocock Kindley (Marion College, now Indiana Wesleyan University). 

Dr. Hyman earned an MD degree from Indiana University in 1979 and trained in anesthesia at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville (Tennessee) and worked there for most of the next 40 years. After anesthesia training, he stopped playing for fifteen years before beginning studies with Marilyn Shields-Wiltsie  (Vanderbilt Blair School of Music) in 1993. In 2004, he received a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance from Belmont University, where he studied with Dr. Robert Marler.

Dr. Hyman is a researcher and is a national expert on job satisfaction and burnout and has researched physicians who are also musicians.  He also is on the advisory board of the Nashville International Piano competition and often adjudicates competitions. He often collaborates with Marilyn Shields-Wiltsie in music for two pianos. He recently performed the Beethoven 2nd piano concerto with the Nashville Concerto Orchestra.

American conductor Gregory Robbins enjoys a diverse career as a performer, educator, bassist, and arts advocate.

He has held positions as Associate Conductor of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Music Director of the Delphi Chamber Orchestra, and Director of Orchestral Programs at Idyllwild Arts Academy & Summer Program. In 2022 he was appointed to the faculty of Ball State University, directing the orchestral programs and the graduate orchestral conducting program. As a guest conductor, he has made recent appearances with the Redlands Symphony, Norwalk Youth Symphony, Yonkers Philharmonic, Pazardjik Symphony (Bulgaria) and Symphony by the Sea.

A strong advocate for music education, Robbins has extensive experience working with a variety of Youth, Secondary, and Collegiate ensembles. He has guest conducted at Yale School of Music, NYU, and lectured at Mannes College: The New School for Music. During the summer of 2015 he began an appointment to the conducting staff of the New York State Summer School for the Arts, in a program presented in conjunction with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was formerly the education director for the Geneva Music Festival.

Robbins is active in the worlds of Jazz and Popular Music, and recently received a 2022 GRAMMY nomination in the category of Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, conducting the sophomore album of the NYC based big-band Assembly of Shadows. In 2018, he led a performance at Brooklyn Academy of Music featuring John Cale (formerly of Velvet Underground) and the Wordless Music Orchestra which gained wide acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. In the world of film and tv, he was the “conducting coach” for Gael Garcia Bernal, star of Amazon’s hit Mozart in the Jungle series.

As a chamber musician, Robbins has performed with such luminaries as David Frankl, Clive Greensmith, and Ani Kavafian, among others. He has also collaborated with members of the Tokyo, Linden, and Attacca string quartets for concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

He received his formal training at Yale School of Music and Manhattan School of Music, and currently resides in Muncie, Indiana.

Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Anna Thompson-Danilova is currently holding substitute positions with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Symphony Orchestra as well as the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. Nationally and internationally, she has been a substitute in the New World Symphony Orchestra, Florida and performed both as a principal player as well as soloist with the Zazerkalie Orchestra and the Conservatory Orchestra of St. Petersburg. Anna has given solo performances in the United States, Russia and Europe. She is currently the principal cello of Orchestra Indiana, Carmel Symphony and Marion Philharmonic Orchestras, and current cello faculty at Indiana Wesleyan and Taylor universities. Her students are regular winners of regional competitions.

She studied at such renowned institutions as the Rimsky-Korsakov Music College and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg where she holds Bachelor and Masters degrees in cello performance and was a student of Alexey Massarsky. She furthermore holds an Artist diploma and additional Masters in cello performance from Ball State University, where she was studying with Peter Opie and had a full assistantship.

She has performed in cello master classes with Richard Aaron, David Garrett, Stephen Balderston, Emilio Colón, Robert DeMaine, Eric Barlett, Anthony Elliott, Natalia Gutman, and Susan Moses, and in chamber music classes with the Moscow Piano Trio and Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble. Anna received numerous grants and scholarships to further her education, among them a Scholarship for the annual Round-Top festival in Texas as well as a full assistantship at Ball State University. She has participated in the National Repertory Orchestra, Round-Top festivals and the Chamber Music Seminar in Pittsburgh and won several regional competitions in St. Petersburg. 

When Noelle Tretick Gosling was a student at the North Carolina School of the Arts, she was both a violin and ballet major. These dual interests brought her full scholarships to both the Aspen Music Festival and Ballet West before she finally decided to pursue her music performance degrees at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana.

In January 2017, Noelle won the position of Concertmaster of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra (now Orchestra Indiana ) 55 years after her father held the same position. She is a former member of the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and still performs regularly with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Louisville Orchestra.

In addition to classical, Noelle enjoys playing all genres of music and is in demand as a recording artist for music publishing companies as well as traveling Broadway shows. Tours with legendary performers including Stevie Wonder, Johnny Mathis, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick Jr, Sandi Patty, Andy Williams, Mel Tormé, Perry Como, and Manhattan Transfer have taken her from coast to coast.

Noelle has served on the music faculties of Anderson University and Park Tudor School in Indianapolis. She now maintains a private teaching studio and coaches students of the Indianapolis Youth Orchestra. During the summers, she teaches at the Music For All Summer Symposium, Benefic Chamber Music Camp, and the Anderson University String Camp.

She is one of five children, all of whom are professional musicians. Their father, Sidney Tretick, was a virtuoso violinist and head of the string department at Ball State University from 1952 until his untimely death in 1962. Their mother, Patricia Tretick, was also Professor of Violin at Ball State until her retirement in 1993.

Noelle resides in Indianapolis with her husband Dan, a professional trumpet player and the inventor of ChopSaver Lip Care. Their son, Anthony, is a graphic designer and DJ/music producer living in Chicago.

When not playing the violin, Noelle enjoys traveling, cooking, hiking, reading biographies, consignment shopping, collecting unique footwear and clothes, and still loves to dance!

A native of Japan, Mihoko Watanabe is a Professor of Flute, the Chair of the Entrepreneurial Music Certificate Program, and the Woodwind Area Coordinator at Ball State University. Before joining Ball State, Dr. Watanabe taught at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the University of Windsor, Canada. As an active pedagogue, she travels widely as a clinician, presenting masterclasses throughout the USA, Canada, and Japan. She has adjudicated at international and national music festivals and competitions. In 2005, she taught at the Brevard Music Center summer festival. She has won competitions sponsored by the Japan Flute Association and the National Flute Association (NFA). She has appeared in Japan, Israel, England, Germany, and Canada as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist. She is the principal flute of the Orchestra Indiana and performs with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra. She has appeared at NFA, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Flöte e.V. (DGfF e.V.), British Flute Association, International Double Reed Society, International Clarinet Association, American Viola Society, and College Music Society conferences. As a researcher, she published an article, Essence of Mei, from NFA’s Flutist Quarterly in 2008. It has been translated and published in German for DGfG e.V.’s Flöte aktuell, and in Dutch for the Nederlands Fluit Genootschap’s Fluit. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Eastman School of Music, and Musashino Academia Musicae in Japan. As a mindful medication coach, she gives workshops for musicians nationally. More information at www.mihokoflute.com

Collegiate Division

Kaleb Durfee is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in piano performance from Butler University. He was selected as a finalist and received an honorable mention in the 2023 Butler University concerto competition. Apart from playing solo repertoire, he has performed with the Butler Wind Ensemble as a pianist, and enjoys teaching private lessons. Kaleb is also the principal clarinetist in the Butler Symphony Orchestra, having performed substantial works including Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake and The Nutcracker ballets. 

Dilnaz Kozybakova has been studying violin since she was 4 years old, now she is 21 years old. She was born in Barnaul, Russia. She graduated from music school and college, then went to Ball State University. She loves to participate in concerts and competitions. She has toured with the orchestra in Russia more than once and won prizes 

Violinist, Wendi Li, started playing violin at age of 5, studying with a local teacher in Weinan, China. She currently studies at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under Pacifica Quartet's first violinist, the school’s strings department chair Simin Ganatra. Her talent was soon discovered since the time she started to play violin, and she entered Xi'an Music Conservatory affiliated middle school from 2015-2021. She later became the concertmaster of Xi'an Conservatory Youth Orchestra. Now Wendi is an active musician in many fields of music. As an orchestral musician, Wendi has performed with the prestigious New World Symphony, she currently is a member of Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and Owensboro Symphony. In 2022, Wendi attended Brevard Music Center where she acted as concertmaster for Brevard Sinfonia Orchestra. In 2023, she served as associate concertmaster of the Chautauqua Festival Orchestra. In the same year, she also attended Sarasota Music Festival as a violin fellow. 

Katherine Marx is a flute and vocal performance student in her senior year at Purdue University Fort Wayne. She performed as a soloist with the PFW orchestra in 2023 after winning the concerto competition, and she will perform again with the ensemble in February 2024. She placed third in the Idaho All-State Solo Competition as a junior in high school. Katherine has a passion for orchestral playing as well as solo performance, and she joined the Fort Wayne Philharmonic for three programs in 2023 as well as one concert with the Musicians of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. She has held principal positions in the PFW Wind Ensemble, PFW Orchestra, Idaho All-State Band, MasterWorks Festival Orchestra, and the Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, among others. Katherine is honored to study flute with Luke Fitzpatrick and previously with Karlin Coolidge. She studies voice as a soprano with Ashlee Bickley McCrory. She hopes to continue her studies through a graduate flute program beginning in the fall. 

Kate Mikels is a Junior at Taylor University studying Computer Science and minoring in honors, music, and Spanish. While studying flute at Taylor, she has entered two competitions placing honorable mention (both times) in the Kokomo Park Band Collegiate Solo Competition, playing Chaminade Concertino in 2023 and Carnival of Venice in 2022. Kate is currently principal flute in the Taylor University Symphony Orchestra. 

Arjun Siderys is the winner of the 2022 Peoria Symphony Young Artist Competition in Peoria, Illinois, performing Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2 at the PSO's 2022 Youth Concert under maestro George Stelluto. He received 1st place in the Young Hoosier State Piano Competition, 2nd place in the PFW Gene Marcus Piano Competition, and Alternate at the 2023 Hoosier Auditions State Finals. He has received finalist/honorable mention awards in competitions such as the DePaul Concerto Festival (Chicago) and Louisville Orchestra Young Artist Competition. He currently studies with Dr. Robert Palmer. 

Mia Traverse is a junior music education major with an emphasis in jazz studies at Butler University. In addition to education, Mia has a strong interest in both classical and jazz performance. Her primary instrument is alto saxophone, which she has been studying since 2013. She is a member of several large ensembles as the principal alto saxophone in the Butler University Wind Ensemble and lead alto in the Butler University Jazz Ensemble. She also is a passionate plays in many small ensembles, including the Arthur Jordan Saxophone Quartet and Butler University Jazz Collective. Her current instructors are Dr. Phil Pierick and Dr. Matthew Pivec. Most recently, she worked intensely on expanding her solo classical saxophone skills, placing as a finalist in both the 2023 and 2022 Butler University Concerto Competition. In 2023, she was awarded the Rosemary Lang Honor Award for woodwind performance. In 2021, she performed as a featured concerto soloist with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Wind Ensemble. That same year, she was named a recipient of the John Philip Sousa Award and Woody Herman Jazz Award for her dedication to her high school’s band program. 

Christian Urizar is an undergraduate student in the Music Performance program at Purdue University Fort Wayne emphasizing in piano performance. He is currently studying under the instruction of Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo. Christian currently plays piano in the PFW Wind Ensemble and has toured with them through cities in France, Italy, Switzerland and the US. He has participated and won awards in Hoosier piano competitions and has also participated in master classes with guest artists at PFW. He is originally from Rhode Island but moved to Guatemala City, Guatemala where he lived most of his childhood and early young adult life. While living in Guatemala, Christian studied classical piano at the National Music Conservatory of Guatemala. He currently teaches piano to many age groups and enjoys listening to live music with his friends around Fort Wayne. 

Aaron Wilson - I am a current jazz studies major at butler university. I have been fortunate to have studied with Dr. Matt Pivec for over 2 and a half years, as well as Dr. Phil Pierick since coming to Butler. I have performed two of my own public performances with original pieces and have played with Cecile Mclorin Salvant, Rob Dixon, and Sophie Faught on separate occasions. 

Senior Division 

Rohan Eapen, age 17, is a junior at Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) High School who resides in Fishers, Indiana. He is an experienced musician with piano driving his passion for music since he started playing at the age of 6. Picking up the violin a couple years later, Rohan has found a balance between the two instruments and excelled in both. He has made several achievements throughout his musical career, including serving as concertmaster for the Indianapolis Youth Orchestra (IYO) and HSE Symphony Orchestra, winning the IYO Concerto Competition, winning the first annual Herman Whitfield III Memorial Chair Award in 2022, presented by IYO, and most recently, being one of the four winners of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. To share his deep passion for music with others, Rohan recently founded Aspiring Musicians, a club in which young musicians play together for the community. The club received a wonderful response from its first performance, and Rohan has begun to expand it to people outside of his high school in order to broaden its scope and spread joy to many. In his free time, Rohan enjoys playing tennis and spending time with his family. 

Reah Frydrych  

- Currently in the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestra for two years 
- Participated in the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestra chamber program for one year 
- Currently in the Fischoff program 
- won the south bend youth symphony orchestra concerto competition and performed with the south bend youth symphony orchestra as a soloist in November. 
-Participated in ISSMA for two years as a soloist and went to state, along with participating ISSMA with an ensemble group. 

Of Ukrainian-Japanese heritage, Eishin Hiraishi was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 2007, and started playing the violin at age 5 with Michi Kagawa. At age 7, his principal violin teacher in Hiroshima became Prof. Naoko Murakami. From 2017 Eishin resided in Hannover, Germany, studying music at VIFF (preschool for gifted children) at the Hannover Music University HMTMH where he graduated in 2021. He is a second prize winner (youth category) at the 2019 Marina Jashvili International Competition (Republic of Georgia), as well as a second prize winner in the 2022 International Youth Competition “Flame” in Paris. Since March of 2022 he has been performing a series of charity concerts “Let’s Play/Pray for Ukraine” in Japan in support of Ukrainian children and refugees. Eishin recently received the 12th Iwatani Tokiko Foundation For Youth Award. 

Tara Kim is currently in 9th grade at West Lafayette Jr/Sr High School. Born into a musical family, she began her piano studies at age 5, and only 2 years later, she became the winner of the Indiana State Hoosier Auditions at age 7. 
Tara was one of the 4 finalists in the Solo Category and the 2nd prize winner in the Concerto Category of the 2023 Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition. Tara has performed in masterclasses with renowned artists like Sean Chen and performed at venues including The Palladium, Phillippe Performing Arts Center, York Performance Hall, and DePauw University. She currently studies piano with Dr. Minju Choi Witte in Indianapolis. Her past teachers include Nadya Dubikovsky and Dr. May Phang. 
Tara actively serves her community through West Lafayette Tutti, performing piano at senior living communities and hospitals, and is also a competitive swimmer. She resides in West Lafayette with her parents, older brother, and her dog, Joy. 

Emma Levesque began studying harp at age four and became a student in Indiana University’s pre-college harp program at age seven where Emma currently studies with Fanfen Tai. Emma has competed in harp competitions in Japan, Hong Kong, and across the US. Emma most recently won first place in the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition, first place in the Midwest Harp Festival Solo Competition, second place in the Hong Kong Infinity International Music Competition, and finished as a finalist in the Carmel Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Concerto Competition. Emma is a senior honors student at Indiana Connections Academy. When not playing the harp, Emma is an avid sailor and US Sailing certified small boat instructor. 

Maria Tan is a Fort Wayne based cellist. Maria has pursued music for as long as she can remember, playing cello from the age of five. She has studied with teachers Deb Nitka-Hicks, Ed Stephens, Dr. Melissa Kraut, and Anne Francis Bayless. Summer studies and festivals include Interlochen and the Fry Street Quartet Chamber Music Camp. She has participated in Indiana All State Orchestra for the past five years, sitting principal cellist as a freshman, and has recently been part of the All National Symphony Orchestra. She has been playing in the Fort Wayne Philharmonics Youth Orchestra from the age of nine, and of which she is the principal cellist. She is currently studying with Deborah Nitka-Hicks and attends Canterbury High School, where she plays in the orchestra under the direction of Colleen Tan. 

Born in 2007 and currently a high school junior in Fort Wayne, IN, Kenny Wang has studied piano since he discovered his interest at age 5. 
He currently studies with Dr. Hamilton Tescarollo and owes much credit to his former teachers, Ms. Carol Hahn and Ms. Christine Freeman. Kenny’s performing accolades range from winning the MTNA Indiana Junior Piano competition and the Gene Marcus Piano Competition as well as a near-perfect ISSMA State piano solo to recognition in the IMTA Hoosier Auditions and a 2nd place finish in the Carmel Klavier International Competition. He has also performed in masterclasses for tremendous artists such as Dr. Randall Faber, Dr. Kara Huber, Panayis Lyras, Dr. Caroline Hong, Dr. Alexandre Dossin, and Dr. Caio Pagano. Outside of solo piano, he has participated in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic’s Youth Symphony orchestra since 2021 and is currently the principal pianist and assistant principal percussionist. 

17-year-old violist Sinead Whelan (she/her) is a student of Mimi Zweig at the IU Pre-College String Academy. She began music at the age of 4, starting on the violin but switching to the viola at the age of 12. For three years, Sinead has performed as a part of the IU Virtuosi, a renowned and well-traveled ensemble of young violinists and violists. Sinead recently performed the Telemann Viola Concerto with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra as an honorable mention for their youth concerto competition. In addition to Zweig, Sinead has studied viola with Esteban Hernandez Parra, Roeland Jagers, and Atar Arad at the Jacobs School of Music. Sinead is a senior at Bloomington High School North and is planning on studying viola performance in college. Outside of music she is heavily involved in the community, especially in regards to diversity, equity, and inclusion at her school. 

Catherine Yang, 16, is a sophomore at Zionsville Community High School. Catherine started cello at age 10, after playing piano for five years. She currently studies cello with Austin Huntington, principal cellist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. In Zionsville, Catherine serves as principal cellist of the Chamber Orchestra. She has also been principal cellist of the Indianapolis Youth Symphony Orchestra, a recent winner of the American Prize for Orchestra, and was a part of their New York City Carnegie Hall performance in 2022. She has been selected as a member of the INASTA Indiana All-State Orchestras for three consecutive years. As a pianist, Catherine was named finalist and won awards in compeDDons such as the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale, Indiana Arts Festival, Gene Marcus Piano Competition, and more. Outside of music, Catherine enjoys spending Dme with friends and family, especially her two dogs and two cats. 

Jonah Zimmerman started the violin at 6. He began his first lessons with the suzuki school of music. More recently he has been taking lessons from Violetta Todarova, the concert master of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. He plays in the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and his school Orchestra. He was invited to play in the Indiana All State Orchestra for it's 2024 season. Jonah has participated in the annual ISSMA Solo and Ensemble and was awarded a gold rating every time. This past summer he took part in the Indiana University Jacobs School of music summer music clinic. He also occasionally plays for his church. 

Junior Division

Zoe Cha is 11 yrs old and in the 6th grade. She has been playing piano since she was 5 yrs old. She loves the instrument and has played in numerous piano competitions, occasionally embodying the competitive spirit and enjoying the challenge. Zoe loves to read and listen to classical music. When not practicing piano, she wields a mean bow on her cello and an even meaner backhand on the tennis court. 

Brian Huang is a native of Carmel Indiana where he is an 8th grade student in Creekside Middle School.  He is the 2nd place winner of the 2023 Indianapolis Youth Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Competition.  In the 2023-2024 season he is a member of the Indianapolis Youth Symphony Orchestra and serving as concertmaster in the Creekside Middle School Orchestra. Additionally, he has been a first category ISSMA gold medalist for several years.  Brian is also a regular participant of summer music festivals.  He attended the Summer Music Clinic at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Benefic Chamber Music Camp at Ball State University where he also participated in the concerto competition last summer.  Brian began playing violin in the 4th grade and has been studying in the studio of Dr. Natalia Blinchevsky (Nizhalova). In his free time Brian enjoys traveling, cooking, and practicing Tang Soo Do for which he earned the black belt in 2022. 

Glenda Na, 12 years old, currently studies at Central Middle School. Her piano journey started when she was 5. Glenda is a student at Ada Piano School, learning piano with Miss Ada Shebanova. Glenda has been attending various competition and performance recital, locally and internationally. She is winner of Indiana Hoosier Audition State Competition (Solo), Carmel International Piano Competition, and Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Scholarship Competition. Besides Piano, Glenda enjoys Taekwondo martial art and competes in national and international events. 

Penelope Scott has been playing piano for 7 years. She was chosen as a performer in the recital at a summer music camp in 2022. She was also given an honorable mention in last year's Patricia Tretick Young Artist Competition. 

Priscilla Scott has been taking piano lessons for nine years. She went to a music camp in South Carolina and was chosen to play in the concert there. She played in the Patricia Tretick Young Artists Competition last year and received an honorable mention . She has accompanied for students in Junior Festival . 

Jessica Xie, age 14, is a 8th Grader at West Lafayette Jr/Sr High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. Jessica started piano with Mr. Aleksey Madan at five and a half years old in the summer of 2015. Currently she is learning piano from Professor Karen Taylor. From age 6, Jessica consecutively won first place in multiple categories at the Indiana Young Hoosier State Piano Competition from 2016 to 2019. In 2018, she won the 3rd place in Solo Elementary B1 division at the Carmel Klavier international piano competition for Young Artists. In June 2019, she was finalist with honorable mention in Contemporary Elementary B division at the Carmel Klavier international piano competition for Young Artists. In March 2020, she won 1st place in Hoosier Auditions District J competition (State competition canceled for the year because of pandemic). In June 2021, she won 3rd place in Duet and was a finalist with honorable mention in the Contemporary category at the Carmel Klavier International piano virtual competition. In Oct, she won 1st prize at First International Online Competition "Music is Life" - Trzciana 2021 and Prize for E. Grieg piece. In February 2022, she earned a Gold rating with Distinction in the 2022 ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association) Piano Solo Event. In June, She won 3rd place in Solo and 3rd place in Contemporary in the Intermediate A1 Category at the Carmel Klavier International piano competition. In 2023, she earned Superior rating in Indiana Arts Festival classical event advanced class. Besides piano, Jessica also plays clarinet. She loves sharing her music with people. She likes drawing, playing chess, volleyball, and soccer. Her dream is to become a pianist and a mechanical engineer. 

Alice Zheng is currently a student of Professor Mimi Zweig at the Jacobs School of Music. She regularly performs solo recitals in concerts at the Indiana University String Academy. She was the winner of the Elementary Division of the Muncie Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition in 2021, and awarded honor with distinction at ISMA state solo and ensemble competitions. She was the concert master of the 2023 Indiana Junior All-State Orchestra.  

Elementary Division 

Melody Kim just turned 10 years old and has played piano and violin since she was 6 years old. She has won third place in piano at Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition in 2021 then as she switched her focus to violin, she won first place at the Indianapolis Musicale Matinee Scholarship auditions two years in a row on violin (2022, 2023). She has been playing in the Indianapolis Youth Orchestra since 2023 and has been featured as a soloist at the most recent concert at the Indiana History Center performing Seitz Violin Concerto no. 5, 1st movement. 
She has participated in the Summer Classical Music Academy in Segovia, Spain for the last two years gaining much experience in chamber and orchestra music as one of the youngest participants. She currently studies violin with Ms. Linda Picard. She loves reading, dancing, and colleting natural materials such as rocks, leaves, and acorns to create art work. She is in 4th grade at Fishers Christian Academy and loves playing with her brother and friends in her free time. She wants to become a vet when she grows up. 

Pianist Eason Lin is a fourth-grade student at Yorktown Elementary School in Yorktown, Indiana. Eason has been playing since the age of 5. Eason frequently performs in recitals and competitions. Among his awards are the Muncie Junior Festival performance awards, the 2023 and 2022 Indiana Hoosier Auditions, first place in the district level, and honorable mention in the 2023 state level. Eason was awarded an honorable mention in the 2022 Gene Marcus Piano Competition. He joined the piano studio of Dr. Galit Gertsenzon in 2021. Eason’s hobbies include soccer, volleyball, basketball, reading, swimming, coding, and math. 

Simeon Wilson began playing violin at the age of 7. He is currently 11 years old and in Suzuki Book VI. Simeon is third chair in the South Bend Youth Concert Orchestra, and a member of the Pentatonic Palette chamber group. He has performed in South Bend, Goshen, Elkhart, and Berrien Springs, Michigan. Simeon has attended Blue Lake Suzuki camp in Michigan for two summers. 

Felicia Xie, age 10, is a fifth grader at West Lafayette Intermediate School in West Lafayette, Indiana. Felicia started piano with Mr. Aleksey Madan at four and a half years old. Currently she is learning piano from Professor Karen Taylor. At age 5 and 6, Felicia consecutively won 1st place in Hoosier Auditions District J Pre-Early Elementary Piano division, and won first place in multiple categories at the Indiana Young Hoosier State Piano Competition in 2018 and 2019. At age 6, she won 1st place in Contemporary, and 2nd place in Solo at the Carmel Klavier International piano competition for Young Artists in the under 7 group. In 2021, she won 3rd place in Contemporary, 3rd place in Solo in age 8 group, and with her sister won 3rd place in Duet age 10-11 group at the Carmel Klavier International piano virtual competition. She won the Special Founder’s Award in the Elementary Category (Ages 6 - 9) at the 2021 Spotlight International Piano Competition. She won 1st prize in Pre-category at Four Notes International Competition Online Edition. In 2022, she won 1st place in the Hoosier Audition State Competition Early Elementary Category. She won 2nd place in Elementary B2 Contemporary Category at the Carmel Klavier International piano competition. She was selected to play in the Carmel Klavier Winners’ Gala Concert (declined due to schedule conflict). In 2023, she won 1st place in Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Jr. Scholarship Auditions Category C. She earned Superior rating in Indiana Arts Festival classical event advanced class. She won 3rd place in Solo Intermediate A1 Category at the Carmel Klavier International piano competition. Felicia loves playing piano and enjoys sharing her music with people. Besides music, she also likes writing, origami, playing chess, and basketball. Her dream is to become a pianist. 

Prescreening Adjudicator:
Dr. James Thompson

Final Round Adjudicators: 
Anna Thompson-Danilova, Dr. Steve Hyman, Gregory Robbins, Noelle Tretick Gosling, and Dr. Mihoko Watanabe

Videographer: 
Ball State University Media Services

Orchestra Indiana’s Education Committee:
Isaac Denniston, Jason Hart, Dr. Sally Kang, Dr. Lisa Kozenko, Katie Morgan Perez, Elisabeth Ohly-Davis, Dr. James Thompson, and Noelle Tretick Gosling

Competition Staff: 
Dr. James Thompson, Katie Morgan Perez, David Blakely, Sam Condon, Dakotah Mandina, and Abigail Suppinger

Venue:
Ball State University School of Music and the Staff of Sursa Performance Hall