Calendar
Upcoming Music for Youth Events
Emerging Artists Concert featuring Sydney Lee and Serena Li
Registration
Registration is required for this event.
Registration will close on February 1, 2026 @ 1:00pm.
About the Artists
Please join us for a Music for Youth Emerging Artists concert featuring award-winning cellist Sydney Lee. Praised for her “mesmerizing” interpretation of Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante, where she “surmounted all of its technical challenges with ease and gave us a joyous musical experience” (Julian Lloyd Webber, solo cellist), Sydney captivates audiences with her refined elegance, expressive depth, and radiant sincerity.
A rising force in the classical music world, Sydney was awarded First Prize at the 2022 Washington International Competition, Second Prize at the Classic Strings International Competition, and became the inaugural recipient of Meadowmount School of Music’s prestigious $50,000 Gurrena Fellowship.
Since making her solo debut at age thirteen with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Sydney has performed across North America and Europe in such renowned venues as Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and Terrace Theater, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, and the Konzerthaus Berlin.
Deeply committed to arts advocacy and education, Sydney serves on the Board of Directors for the Back to Bach Project, a global initiative reaching over 70 regions and800 members, dedicated to inspiring children through music and community Engagement.
A native of New York City, Sydney is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music an Northwestern University, where she is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the mentorship of Hans Jørgen Jensen.
Collaborating with Sydney on this concert is Music for Youth Emerging Artist, Serena Li. Serena, age 14, is one of the talented high school musicians selected by Music for Youth to be part of their Emerging Artists program. She currently studies at Juilliard Pre- College under the tutelage of Clara Minhye Kim, and has won many awards in cello including the NLPA Virtuosi Recital Competition, Enkor International Competition, and the CAI Concerto Competition. Serena performed as a soloist three years in a row with the Symphony of Westchester as one of the prize winners of their Young Artis Competition.
About the Program
This program celebrates the lyrical intimacy and rich harmonic language of French music from the late Romantic to early 20th century. César Franck’s radiant Sonata in A major anchors the program with its sweeping emotional arc and cyclical design, a hallmark of French Romanticism. Nadia Boulanger’s Three Pieces for Cello and Piano offer a more introspective voice of poetic miniatures that reveal delicate shades of color and quiet nuance. Camille Saint-Saëns’s beloved The Swan complements these works with its elegance, warmth, and timeless melodic charm. Together, these pieces trace a lineage of French expressivity—refined, nostalgic, and deeply human.
Emerging Artists Concert featuring Vitaly Starikov and Edouard Ferragu
Please join us for a Music for Youth Emerging Artists concert featuring award-winning pianist Vitaly Starikov. Vitaly has found distinction with “raw, deeply felt, and powerful” (La Scena) performances, while having an unassuming onstage presence and a “willingness less to play at the audience than to draw [them] into musical intimacies” (Dallas Morning News).
His bold approach won him silver at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the admiration of fans around the globe. His Cliburn performance of Bartok’s Second Piano Concerto electrified the room, with a La Scena reviewer noting that “he understood this music, and gave an impactful, lively, and gripping interpretation on all levels: emotionally, architecturally, and in terms of his sound palette.”
He has performed with the Antwerp and Belgian National Orchestras, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Belarusian State Symphony Orchestra, and St. Petersburg Symphony, and toured with the Orchestre national de Metz Grand Est. This inaugural Cliburn season takes him to the Bravo! Vail and Sunriver Music Festivals, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and Pacific, Topeka, and Springfield Symphony Orchestras, and in recitals throughout the United States.
Vitaly studied with Vera Gornostayeva, one of the world’s most venerated teachers, at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the Conservatory and then his master’s degree, under the tutelage of Eliso Virsaladze. He’s now at the Yale School of Music, pursuing an artist diploma under Boris Berman.
Collaborating with Vitaly on this concert is Music for Youth Emerging Artist, Edouard Ferragu, a sophomore at Hopkins School in New Haven, CT. Edouard currently studies piano with Professor Delana Thomsen and chamber music with Professor Claudia Knafo at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division. Edouard won first & second prizes at the Golden Key Music Festival, Vivo Music Competition, Musical Life Competition and Charleston Competitions and has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Concert Hall
About the Program
Program details forthcoming. Please check back for updates.
Emerging Artists Concert featuring the Terra String Quartet, and Harry Tao and Emma Maini
About the Artists
Please join us for a Music for Youth Emerging Artists concert featuring the acclaimed Terra String Quartet. Winner of the 2025 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition, and the 2025 Bordeaux and Wigmore Hall International Quartet Competitions, the Terra String Quartet is a vibrant young international ensemble based in New York City. They are composed of graduates of The Juilliard School, The New England Conservatory, Harvard University, and the Curtis Institute of Music.
TSQ is the 2024-26 fellowship Ensemble-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music, where they coach undergraduate chamber group ensembles, as well the 2024–25 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. TSQ has also won top prizes at the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, the 2023 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, and the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.
Known for their sincere storytelling, commitment to artistic excellence, and versatile approach to repertoire, TSQ strives to foster conversation and genuine human connection through their performances and pedagogy. Their mentors and coaches include the members of the Brentano Quartet, Ara Gregorian, Hye-Jin Kim, and Marcy Rosen.
Collaborating with TSQ on this concert are Music for Youth Emerging Artists, Emma Maini and Harry Tao. Emma, age 16, is a junior at Rye Country Day School and attends the Precollege Division of The Juilliard School, where she studies under Elizabeth Chang and Lucie Gelinas. Harry, age 16, is a junior at Wilton High School and studies under Clara Kim in the Juilliard Pre-College program. Emma and Harry have both won numerous competitions and awards, and are avid chamber musicians.
About the Program
Program details forthcoming. Please check back for updates.
