The Jefferson Symphony Orchestra
2024-25 Jefferson Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition concludes!
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The JSO*YAC live finals took place at Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO on Saturday, January 11, 2025.
The top finalist of JSO*YAC, Li Yuqing will perform their winning Tchaikovsky concerto repertoire with Jefferson Symphony Orchestra on March 30th, 2025 in Golden, CO, and receives $5,000 in cash.
Applications for the 2025-26 YAC Competition will open in May 2025!
2024-25 JSO*YAC - Top Finalists
FIRST PLACE - Li Yuqing,
Li is 16, having started violin at 4 years old in China. In 2019, Li won first place in the preliminaries of the Hong Kong International Violin Competition, and in 2020 won the Singapore International Violin Online Competition. Li attends the Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship.
Li will perform a solo recital on March 28th, 2025 at Jefferson Unitarian Church, and also perform with the full Jefferson Symphony Orchestra on March 30th, 2025 at the Greene Center at 3:00pm as our flagship soloist and featured artist.
SECOND PLACE - Emmanuelle (Ellie) Sievers,
21-year-old Japanese-American violinist Emmanuelle (Ellie) Sievers is emerging on the music scene as a vibrant soloist, orchestral, and chamber performer.
Awarded the Starling Distinguished Violinist Scholarship, Ellie is currently studying under Professor Brian Lewis at the Butler School of Music, University of Texas at Austin for her Bachelor of Music Degree.
Ellie won a prize of $2,000 for her extraordinary talent and skill, and performed at the YAC Winners’ Recital.
THIRD PLACE - Gwentyth Aggeler,
Gwenyth began playing guitar through an extracurricular program at her elementary school. At the age of seventeen, she received the CAPE Foundation Endowed Scholarship to study with Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University where she is currently pursuing a Graduate Performance Diploma at 21 years old.
Gwenyth will win a prize of $1,000 for their extraordinary talent and skill, and perform at the YAC Winners’ Recital tonight, January 11th.
Honorable Mentions
Anastasia Arango, Harp
Yu Jen Weng, Violin
Previous Winners
Ann Kuo
YAC 2024, flute
Hans-Derek Yu YAC 2023, piano
Ji Eun Park
YAC 2022, viola
Daniel Gostein
YAC 2020, marimba
Each year the instrumental focus changes: JSO*YAC '25 for orchestral strings, guitar, and harp. Jefferson Symphony and JSO*YAC '24 for Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion instruments. JSO*YAC '25 will focus on Piano players performing concerto repertoire or similar works and we invite you to contact jso.yac@gmail.com for any further inquiries and we will continue to post updates on this page.
JSO*YAC Experiences
“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to come to Colorado and play for the judges, audience and my peers. It is sometimes very hard as a young musician to find rewarding venues to play for. Here, the music is obviously treasured by the listeners and participants alike. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I could not have hoped for a better weekend.”
– Finalist
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“The finalists are all winners! It was a very exciting event to judge. It was revitalizing to be able to listen to such high quality performances, which reflect the musicians' dedication to their art. It made me want to go home and practice!”
– Judge