YSM Alumni and Student News Round-Up | November 2025
Jeongmin An ’25MM ’26MMA won a first violin section position with the LA Philharmonic.
Laura Atkinson ’09MM was awarded a Gracie Award at the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation’s 50th annual award ceremony in New York City. Atkinson is a classical radio host and producer at Louisville Public Media (KY), and was awarded for her series, Notes from Mothers. The program follows the unique experience of being a working musician and a mom. The series was recognized by the AWM for being “outstanding programming by, for and about women” in the media.
Conductor Brian Bartoldus ’09MM ’15DMA led the Handel Choir of Baltimore and a period instrument orchestra in a performance of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis to close the Choir’s 90th season.
Composer Amy Feldman Bernon ’91MM has been featured in a new book titled Choral Repertoire by Women Composers (GIA), edited by Hilary Apfelstadt and Alan Troy Davis. The book includes biographies, lists of representative choral works, and links to articles referencing an approximately 200 female choral composers from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Last May and June, the ensemble, DiscoCactus — comprised of double bassist Sam Bobinski ’15MM, percussionist Doug Perry ’14AD, violinist Matheus Garcia-Souza ’14MM, and composer Benjamin Wallace ’14MM ’20DMA — performed with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, as part of their pops series. The performance, titled “Let’s Play,” reimagined video game music for the eclectic funk ensemble and orchestra, with repertoire spanning from crowd favorites to lesser-known indie gems. DiscoCactus is working towards future performances with other orchestras.
Eric Braley ’17MM was named Principal Clarinetist of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. He also joined the University of Saskatchewan this year as sessional lecturer in clarinet.
The Callisto Quartet, YSM’s 2022–2024 fellowship quartet-in-residence, is excited to welcome violinist Eric Tsai to the ensemble. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, Tsai was the second prize winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition and has performed as a soloist and chamber musician all around the world. He brings thoughtful musicianship and a rich history as both a performer and educator to the ensemble.
Violinist Mélanie Clapiès ’14MM ’15AD has joined the Jupiter String Quartet, succeeding Nelson Lee ’00BA. She joins violinist Meg Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel and cellist Daniel McDonough. Clapiès’s engagement begins in the fall of 2025, when she will also join the School of Music faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where the Quartet has been in residence since 2012.
Pianist Yi Dong ’00MM was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame, a recognition given to piano educators for long-standing dedication to teaching and mentorship. The induction ceremony took place in October at the historic Steinway factory in New York.
Forrest Eimold ’24MM ’30DMA was praised for “never [being] other than authoritative in terms of their technical acuity or their interpretive insight” in a recent Gramophone review for a recording of the complete organ works of Michael Finnsisy.
Tenor Daniel Luis Espinal ’24MM and baritone Finn Sagal ’24MM have been selected as recipients of the 2025 Sara Tucker Study Grant, receiving an unrestricted grant of $5,000 each.
Benjamin Firer ’12MM joined the faculty of Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts as Assistant Professor of Conducting. In this role, Firer will lead the university’s large ensembles and teach courses in conducting and orchestral studies.
Flutist Jake Fridkis ’14MM ’15AD was awarded at the 2025 BMI Hip Hop awards for producing one of the top rap songs of the year. Other highlights from the year include: ranking in the top five rap producers on Billboard; receiving an official Apple Music playlist for his production; being nominated for two Emmys with the All-Star Orchestra on PBS; and performing Kevin Puts’s Flute Concerto with the Amarillo Symphony.
Stephanie Fritz ’22MM joined the faculty of Rowan University as Adjunct Professor of Horn.
Pianist David Fung ’11MM ’13MMA ’17DMA has been appointed Associate Director of the School of Music at the University of British Columbia, where he now curates the acclaimed Wednesday Noon Hours series — 24 concerts annually, featuring diverse voices from internationally-renowned artists. He continues on the piano faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. Fung recently gave the first major U.S. performance of Grażyna Bacewicz’s Piano Concerto and will premiere a Banff Centre-commissioned work by Pat Carrabré. Orchestral debuts include Baltimore Chamber, Wellington, California, and OK Mozart Festival, alongside recent performances with orchestras in Cleveland, Los Angeles, Detroit, San Francisco, and Vancouver.
Pianist Lindsay Garritson ’10MM ’11AD was appointed Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Central Florida.
Art song composer Juliana Hall ’87MM celebrated nine premieres, including Grammy-winning tenor Anthony Dean Griffey’s performance of The Mystic Trumpeter (Walt Whitman) at the Source Song Festival; song cycles Frost Bites (Robert Frost) and Nine Steins (Gertrude Steins) at the London Song Festival; and the cycle Look Twice (Antigoni Gaitana) at Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory. Newfoundland’s Opera on the Avalon commissioned and filmed her most recent monodrama, Marguerite, broadcasting later this year. Her song cycle “A World Turned Upside Down” (Anne Frank) received multiple performances at the 2025 Waterperry Opera Festival.
Pianist Derek Hartman ’21MM ’27DMA recently took home first prize at the Beethoven Competition in Vienna.
Oboist Aaron Hill ’07MM ’08DMA began a new role as Director of the School of the Arts at the University of Nevada, Reno. He recently completed a term as Faculty Senate Chair, released 12 Soon-To-Be Famous Studies for Oboe (Conway Publications), and earned tenure and promotion to Associate Professor of Oboe and Saxophone. His solo album, Solitary Discourse, was released through Soundset Recordings, and includes his arrangement of Bach’s Partita No. 2 for Violin in D Minor and four premiere recordings.
Conductor Max Holman ’15MM was appointed the next Music Director of acclaimed Boston-area chorus The Spectrum Singers.
Olivia Jakyoung Huh ’25MMA won a section cello position with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Guitarist Nate Huvard ’19MM ’20MMA won a guitar/mandolin audition with the Metropolitan Opera. He will perform in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and Don Giovanni in the 2025–26 season. Huvard was also hired as Assistant Professor of Guitar at SUNY Fredonia.
Thomas A. Ingui ’20MM placed third in the Saint-Maurice International Organ Competition. Ingui, who currently serves as the organist for the First Presbyterian Church of Lakeland, FL, was recently tapped for the position of Dean for the Tampa-based American Guild of Organists.
Flutist Sophia Jean ’25MM will be joining the Jacksonville Symphony as second flute starting in the 2025–26 season.
Pianist Oliver Jia ’14AD accepted a faculty appointment at the University of Central Arkansas as Artist-in-Residence, Chair of Piano, and manager of the school’s All-Steinway Initiative. His appointment starts in the fall of 2025.
Pianist Carter Johnson ’23MMA ’29DMA won the Dublin International Piano Competition. He’s also been signed by Concert Artist Guild (CAG).
Seth Josel ’85MM ’88MMA ’94DMA and Michelle Lou have published The Techniques of E-Guitar Playing (Bärenreiter Press), complementing an earlier volume on acoustic guitar published in 2014 and co-authored by Ming Tsao.
Composer Molly Joyce’s ’17MM latest album, State Change, was released on Better Company Records and FatCat Records's 130701 imprint. The album was praised as having “enormous expressive range” by the Wall Street Journal and was named one of the best new albums on NPR in July.
Violist Jack Kessler ’25MM and hornist Braydon Ross ’25MM joined New World Symphony as first-year fellows.
Tenor Seiyoung Kim ’24MMA made his company debut with the Salzburger Festspiele as Rodé in a new production of Tri sestry by Peter Eötvös. The performance was conducted by Maxime Pascal and staged by Evgeny Titov.
In June, violinist Laura Kobayashi ’87MM ’95DMA and pianist Susan Keith Gray ’90DMA released their third album of music featuring women composers, including Florence Price, Ethel Barns, Hilda Jerea, Borghild Holmsen, Gwyneth Rollin, Rhian Samuel, Angela Elizabeth Slater and Nicky Sohn. The project features eight composers and eight premiere recordings.
Earlier this year, harpsichordist Mark Kroll ’71MM presented a lecture on the “Great Boston School of Harpsichord Building,” at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham, MA. The lecture was based on his book on the same subject which was published by Pendragon Press.
Pianists Johnson Li ’27MM and Lixin Zhang ’26MM were named winners ex aequo at the Semana Internacional de Piano de Óbidos (SIPO). They will both play recitals in Portugal in summer 2026.
Last May, violinist Carol Lieberman ’67MM ’70MMA ’74DMA performed a recital at the Handel Hendrix House. She played music of Handel, as well as works by J.S. Bach and Scarlatti on her original Baroque violin and bow.
Clarinetist Nicole Martin ’25MM will be joining Ensemble Connect starting in the 2025–26 season.
Composer Lila Meretzky’s ’22M ’23MMA second album, Simultaneous Contrast, was released in June on the Sawyer Editions Label. The album featured performances from solo percussion to string orchestra, and featured a recording made at YSM by Herdis Gudmundsdottir, Cassia Drake, Benjamin Lanners, Nicholas Hernandez, and Michael Yeung. Meretzky was also selected for American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot program, a professional development initiative working to strengthen relationships between composers and orchestras at the national level.
Oboist Amelia Merriman ’20MM ’21MMA was recently selected as Principal Oboe of the United States Navy Band. In September 2025, she was also appointed Principal Oboe of the Fredericksburg Symphony Orchestra in Fredericksburg, VA.
Violist Ayano Nakamura ’25MM ’26MMA earned second place at the Washington International Competition.
Conductor Julian Pellicano ’07MM ’09MM has been named Music Director of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra starting in the 2025–26 season. Pellicano will be the sixth music director in the 65-year history of the Okanagan Symphony, which is based in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. He will maintain his current positions as conductor with the National Ballet of Canada and Music Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Soprano Juliet Papadopoulos ’24MM has accepted a full-time position in the Metropolitan Opera Chorus.
Composer Kyle Rivera ’24MM won the fifth annual Emerging Black Composers Project prize at San Francisco Symphony. He will receive a $15,000 commission and mentorship, and he’ll premiere a new piece with the SF Symphony in the 2026–27 season.
Conductor Ryan Rogers ’23MM has been appointed Interim Director of Choral Activities at Radford University. In this role, he’ll be directing the Radford Singers, Chorale, and the University Chorus. He’ll also be teaching courses in ear training and sight singing, choral music, and choral literature.
Soprano Natalia Rubis ’17MMA will have two major Richard Strauss debuts in the 2025–26 season, appearing as Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos at Krakow Opera, and in the title role of Salome at Wroclaw Opera.
ZaRiah — a wind quintet composed of flutist Ben Smith ’26MM, clarinetist Katelyn Poetker ’26MM, horn player Oved Rico ’25MM ’26MMA, bassoonist AJ Neubert, and oboist Jamison Hillian — has won the 40th Frances Walton Chamber Music Competition in Seattle, Washington. This marks the first time a wind quintet has won in the competition’s history. The ensemble received $17,500 and will embark on a residency tour across Washington state in September.
Pianist Vitaly Starikov ’26AD earned second place at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Organist Alexander Straus-Fausto ’24MM has been appointed Principal Organist and Associate Music Director at Epiphany Church in Miami, as well as Artistic Director of the Miami International Organ Competition. The music program at Epiphany is devoted to reviving the rich heritage of sacred music, spanning from Gregorian chant to contemporary compositions. It regularly features orchestral Masses by Mozart, Schubert, Rheinberger, and others, and includes an annual concert series, Music at Epiphany.
The National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) announced cellist William Suh ’23MM ’24MMA as its 2025–2027 Young Artist in Strings. The National Federation of Music Clubs is an American non-profit philanthropic music organization that promotes American music, performers, and composers. The award, which is presented every other year, includes a $20,000 prize and two years of NFMC booking engagements with affiliate organizations.
Tubist Antonio Underwood ’87MM has produced and performed two albums and a method book, Jazz Practice in the Modern Era: Methodology for the Aspiring Artist. The book captures Underwood’s journey from Yale to the world stage, pulling on a career that spans Grammy-winning performances with the McCoy Tyner Big Band, groundbreaking roles in Tony-nominated productions, and NYC jazz clubs.
Harpist Noël Wan ’16MM was appointed to the harp faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music, beginning in September 2025. She was also the 2025 recipient of the FAA Emerging Legacy Award, which is the University of Illinois’s highest award for early career alumni in the fields of music, visual art, theatre, dance, and architecture.
Former Music in Schools Initiative postgraduate fellow Kate Warren ’23MMA won the Principal Horn position with the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, marking her return to the Orchestra where she served as the third horn from 2017 to 2019. Kate also won the fourth horn position with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra.
Last May, composer Joseph Martin Waters ’82MM celebrated the premiere reading of his new psychedelic rock opera, El Sidd & The Healers, at The Cutting Room in New York City. Inspired by Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, the work follows a Midwestern teen’s spiritual odyssey through the dazzling and dangerous world of California’s 1969 counterculture.
Oboist Lauren Claire White ’19MM ’20MMA, a Missouri native, joined the faculty of Missouri State University in Springfield, MO, as Assistant Professor of Oboe in August 2025. She also serves as Principal Oboe of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and third oboe/English horn of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra.
Pianist Lucas Wong’s ’06MM ’07MMA ’12DMA world premiere recording of Wilhelm Taubert’s piano sonatas was released on the Naxos label in September 2025.
Pianists Yusong Wu ’26MM and Stephan Xie ’23MM were named winners of the concerto competition at the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival in Lucca, Italy. As part of their award, they will be performing in Germany and Italy during the 2025–26 seasons.
Pianist William Yang ’27MMA earned sixth place at the 19th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.
Last summer, pianist Jiusi Zhang ’26MM took home first prize at the Lancaster International Piano & Chamber Music Festival. He also took home a silver medal at Alabama’s Rubato International Competition and a bronze medal at the International Keyboard Odyssiad in Colorado.
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These news updates feature current students and alums. Submit your news by January 31, 2026 to be included in the next YSM Alumni & Student News Round-Up.
