20th Anniversary Competition Events
Junior Division - April 12, 2025
Senior Division - April 26, 2025
Chimera Quartet
GOLD MEDALISTS
Geneva Lewis, violin (Los Angeles, CA)
Cameron Lee, violin (Sherman Oaks, CA)
Emma Wernig, viola (Woodland Hills, CA)
Tomsen Su, cello (Rowland Heights, CA)
Violinists Geneva Lewis (17) and Cameron Alan-Lee (18) together with cellist Tomsen Su (18) and violist Emma Wernig (17), all met as students at The Colburn School in Los Angeles. They formed the Chimera Quartet at the beginning of September 2015. The name “Chimera” describes the four very distinct, colorful personalities that fuse into one musical being when playing chamber music together. They are being coached by Andrew Cook at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music as well as Clive Greensmith and Ida Levin at the Colburn School where they are the Honors Quartet at the Ed and Mari Edelman Chamber Music Program.
Quartet Diamant
SILVER MEDALISTS
Masha Lakisova, violin (Vernon Hills, IL)
Rebecca Moy, violin (Naperville, IL)
Natalie Clark, viola (Vernon Hills, IL)
Adam Lee, cello (Vernon Hills, IL)
Quartet Diamant was formed at Midwest Young Artists Conservatory in the fall of 2015. It consists of violinists Masha Lakisova and Rebecca Moy, violist Natalie Clarke, and cellist Adam Lee. In February 2016, Quartet Diamant won the first place at Rembrandt High School Chamber Music Competition, and received an Honorable Mention at the Discover National Chamber Music Competition. They are very grateful for their incredible coach and mentor, Robert Bassill, and for all the support at MYAC. In addition to chamber music, all four members love playing in MYAC’s Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Alan Dennis. Individually, they are also highly accomplished solo artists.
Quartet Degas
BRONZE MEDALISTS
Maya Buchanan, violin (Rapid City, SD)
Joshua Brown, violin (Gurnee, IL)
Tess Krope, viola (Chicago, IL)
Josiah Yoo, cello (Northbrook IL)
Quartet Degas, coached by Roland Vamos and Sang Mee Lee, is comprised of Maya Buchanan and Joshua Brown, violins, Tess Krope, viola, and Josiah Yoo, cello. All four students are Laureate or Fellow scholarship recipients of the Academy of the Music Institute of Chicago, a pre-college training program for gifted musicians. Quartet Degas will be competing in the quarter-final round of the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and the 2016 A.N. & Pearl G. Barnett Chamber Music Competition. They recently collaborated and performed in a clarinet quintet with Stephen Williamson, the principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at Nichols Hall in Chicago. The members of Quartet Degas have also individually won numerous competitions and prizes locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, both as solo and chamber musicians. Quartet Degas is named after the French impressionist painter Edgar Degas. Degas was fascinated with capturing chance occurrences in the study of human form and movement in ballet and musical performance. Like the works of Degas, the ensemble strives to capture the spontaneity inherent in a truly great artistic performance. On the more prosaic side, they are all avid Marvel Comics Avengers fans and draw inspiration from their superheroes. Maya, Joshua, Tess and Josiah align themselves with Hawkeye, the Hulk, Captain America and Ironman, respectively, and each brings different strengths to the ensemble to create a reckoning force!