The Academy also provides special support and preparation to students who enter local, regional, national and international solo and chamber music competitions. Numerous Music Institute of Chicago Academy students are prize winners and matriculate to the nation’s top conservatories and universities.
Class of 2024 - 2025 Accolades
Class of 2024 - 2025 Accolades
September
Senior Jan Vargas Nedvetsky, cello student of Hans Jensen, was featured on the inaugural Back to School episode of Introductions on WFMT on Saturday September 14, 2024. Introductions is WFMT’s weekly Saturday morning program that features talented pre-college classical musicians in the Chicago area. Soloists and chamber ensembles perform live in WFMT’s Levin Performance Studio. Jan and pianist Liang-yu Wang performed music of Locatelli, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Judith Weir. His previous appearances on WFMT include an Introductions solo recital in January 2021; as a concerto soloist in April 2023; on WFMT’s 70th Anniversary Day of Celebration in December 2021; and further chamber music appearances in August 2020, in May 2021, in August 2022, and in December 2023. He appeared on the front cover of the WTTW-WFMT Program Guide in April 2023 in conjunction with the commemorative album Introductions Turns 15. https://www.wfmt.com/programs/introductions/
August
Violinist Lily Sullivan, student of Grigory Kalinovsky, one of 55 participants, advanced to the second round of the prestigious Kloster Schöntal Competition. The 20th International Competition for Violin in Kloster Schöntal concluded on 31 August at the monastery’s ballroom in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The competition was open to violinists of all nationalities up to the age of 21. https://www.violinwettbewerb.de/en/competition/
July
Violinist Emily Chen, student of Almita Vamos and Injoo Choi, and cellist Lucy Wu, cello student of Stefan Kartman, competed in the Chicago International Music Competition Rising Star Category, held in July. Emily received first grand prize and Lucy tied for second grand prize. The competition is sponsored by the International Institute of Piano Artistry and co-organized by Wheaton College, and aims to find and cultivate a new generation of music talents in the world and to promote the development of classical music and cultural exchange. Thousands of dollars in cash prizes, master classes, and recording opportunities are provided to the winners.
Chicago International Music Competition (cimcusa.org) https://www.cimcusa.org/page/AboutUS.html
ALUMNI NEWS
Cellist James Baik, First Prize Winner of the 2023 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and recipient of the Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Prize, has advanced to the Final Round of the 2024 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions on Sunday, October 27, 2024. James was also a finalist at the 2019 Stulberg International String Competition and would go on to receive the first prize at the prestigious Irving M. Klein International Competition. Raised in Houston, Texas, James’ early education included studies with Houston Symphony Associate Principal Christopher French and with esteemed pedagogue Hans Jørgen Jensen in Chicago at the Academy. James holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Colburn Conservatory of Music where he studied with Clive Greensmith.
Cellist Johannes Gray, 27, won second prize in the XXIV International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition 2024 in Leipzig, Germany. He also received the GENUIN Special Prize for CD production. Gray studied with Hans Jensen and Gilda Barston while enrolled in the Academy. Though currently based in Paris, cellist Johannes Gray started his musical career in Chicago and has become an award-winning instrumentalist. His solo engagements have taken him across four continents, including performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, the festivals of Ravinia and Verbier, Lincoln Center, SuperCello (Beijing), and the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam. Johannes is passionate about performing contemporary works and plans to showcase a collection of new Parisian compositions along with Poulenc’s cello sonata on his proposed album with Cedille. https://www.cedillerecords.org/emerging-artist-spotlight-johannes-gray/
Violinist Julian Rhee received a 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, which recognizes instrumentalists and chamber ensembles with a $25,000 cash prize. Rhee studied with Hye-Sun Lee and Almita Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy and received his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree as teaching assistant of Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory. Rhee came to international prominence following his prize-winning performances at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition and Silver Medal finish at The 11th Quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Rhee joins accomplished Academy alumni Benjamin Beilman, Matthew Lipman, and the Calidore String Quartet (with the Academy’s Ryan Meehan), as Avery Fisher Career Grant recipients. https://www.julianrhee.com/full-bio-2
Academy alumna cellist Luka Coetzee, former student of Horacio Contreras, won the Paulo International Cello Competition in 2023. In July 2024, she performed her 1st prize-winning performance of Penderecki’s Cello Concerto No. 2, with Conductor Rumon Gamba and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. Luka received numerous awards including First Prize in 2023 at the eminent 7th International Paulo Cello Competition. In November 2022, she was recognized as the First Prize Winner at the Pablo Casals International Award, and in September, she received the Frans Helmerson Promotional Award at the Kronberg Academy, as well as First Prize in the 2022 Johansen International Competition in Washington, DC, garnering further attention for her exciting introduction as an international soloist. https://youtu.be/h-shH2WKzJ4?si=fZmNWiy7Ku92pcWS