31st Annual Young Artist Competition
October 12, 2025 | 2 p.m. | First Presbyterian Church
Free and open to the public! Spectate the final round as we select this season's remarkable young winners. Please reserve your seat prior to the event using the button below.
2025 Young Artist Concerto Competition Information
Finalists
Piano
Alvin Gao (age 15), Piano; Hillcrest High School, South Jordan, UT performing Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor Op. 16 movt. 1 by Sergei Prokofiev
Wilson Liu (age 11), Piano; Mt. Pleasant Middle School, Livingdton, NJ performing Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor K466 movt. 1 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Jacob Rockower (age 17), Piano; The Nueva School, Palo Alto, CA performing Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor Op. 23 movt. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Brass/Woodwinds
Soomin Oh (age 17), Flute; Westwood High School, Austin, TX performing Flute Concerto: I. Allegro con fermezza by Aram Khachaturian
Jacob Peizner (age 17), Alto Sax; Oregon Episcopal School, Portland, OR performing Concertino Da Camera by Jacques Ibert
Felix Zhou (age 13), Bassoon; Thomas Grover Middle School, Princeton Junction, NJ performing Bassoon Concerto in F Major by Carl Maria von Weber
Strings
Hana Gottesman (age 16), Violin; Bellevue Digital Discovery, Bellevue, WA performing Tzigane by Maurice Ravel
Angela Rose Padula (age 18), Cello; The Juilliard School, Ojai, CA performing Variations on a Rococo Theme Op.33 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Lily Richards (age 17), Violin; Bonney Lake, WA performing Violin Concerto movt 1 by Erich Korngold
Judges
Zuill Bailey: GRAMMY Award-winning cello virtuoso, Artistic Director of several major music festivals in the US, including Sitka Summer Music Festival, and a professor of Cello at UT El Paso.
Dr. Julia Hwakyu Lee: Award-winning solo and chamber pianist, faculty at the University of Portland and Portland State University, and previous faculty at Southern Utah University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Philippe Quint: GRAMMY-award nominee recording artist, critically acclaimed violin virtuoso, featured soloist with some of the world’s finest orchestras, and an active chamber musician.
Dr. Ken Selden: Award-winning Director of Orchestral Studies at Portland State University and the conductor and music director of the Portland State University Orchestra.
Dr. Igor Shakhman: Principal Clarinetist and Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Co-founder of the Vancouver USA Arts and Music Festival and VSO Chamber Music Series. Former Clarinet Faculty of the University of Portland and Willamette University.
Awards
1st place - $5,000 and the opportunity to perform with the VSO on January 17 and 18, 2026 under the baton of Maestro Brotons
2nd Place - $2,000
3rd Place - $1,000
Livestream
The virtual live stream programming begins at 2:00 pm. All patrons who RSVP to the event will receive a secure email link to access the live stream. Our tech support team will be available to assist you if you encounter any issues logging in during the competition.
Grand pianos for the competition will be provided by Michelle’s Piano Co.