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 2025 - 2026 Accolades

November


The Music Teachers National Association Performance Competitions (MTNA) are the most successful and prestigious student competitions in the country. Each year, thousands of students compete for top prizes and national recognition. The purpose of the competitions is to provide educational experiences for students and teachers and to recognize exceptionally talented young artists and their teachers in their pursuit of musical excellence. The three-tiered Junior, Senior and Young Artist Performance Competitions begin with a live state competition. The winners/representatives of each state's competitions advance to a video-only Division Competition. Division winners compete in the National Finals at the annual 2026 MTNA National Conference held in Chicago. 

Violinist Emily Chen, student of Almita Vamos and Injoo Choi, was the 1st place winner in the strings division of the MNTA Illinois Competition, held on November 9.  Illinois state winners advance to the East Central Division of the competition in January 2026. Pianist Edie Park, student of Marta Aznavoorian and Winston Choi, was named alternate in the piano division of the MNTA Illinois competition.  

Cellist Henri Smolen was the 2nd Place Winner in the Virtuoso Category of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Maurer Young Musicians Competition. Henri is a student of Austin Huntington. 

Sejong Cultural Society Competition, held on Saturday, November 22. The society strives to advance awareness and understanding of Korea's cultural heritage amongst people in the United States by reaching out to the younger generations through contemporary creative and fine arts. Pianist Noah Kim, student of Christopher Guzman, won 2nd place in the senior division of the 2025 Sejong Music Competition. Violinist Lauren Kim, student of Almita Vamos and Injoo Choi, won 2nd place and Eliana Song, student of Almita Vamos and Davis King, won an honorable mention in the senior violin division. Violinist Sylvia Pine, student of Almita Vamos and Davis King, won 2nd place and best interpretation of a Korean piece in the junior violin division.  

Katarina Kenney, 2025 Stars of Tomorrow Competition winner, was invited to perform in the Milwaukee Symphony Youth Concert Series - Journey of Imagination at the Bradley Symphony Center. She performed Tchaikovsky Pezzo Capriccioso, Op. 62, on six performances, reaching a total of 9,000 students.  

Violinist Lauren Kim, student of Almita Vamos and Injoo Choi, and pianist Claire Wang, performed in a concert for the Young Steinway Artists on Sunday, November 2, 2025. Young Steinway Artists Concert Series showcases young people with extraordinary talent, giving local audiences the chance to enjoy first-class music, for free, and close to home in Skokie.  

October 

Cellist Henri Smolen, student of Austin Huntington, advanced to the live final round of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Maurer Young Musicians Competition, on Saturday, November 8. This competition is held every year for young, promising musicians from Indiana with a goal of giving students a place to hone their performance skills.  Former Academy winners include graduates Sasha Varchenko, Lily Sullivan, and Serge Kalinovsky. 

Illinois State Music Teachers Association Piano Competition (ISMTA) was held on Saturday, October 25, 2025.  Edie Park was the 2nd place winner in the Senior II Division and Noah Kim was the  3rd place winner, Senior II Division. Edie studies with Marta Aznavoorian and Winston Choi, and Noah studies with Christopher Guzman. Academy cellist Roy Wu received Honorable Mention in the Junior Piano Division. 

Composer Sylvia Pine’s War for wind quintet was featured on Introductions on WFMT as a part of the 2025 CSO Young Composers Initiative on October 4, 2025. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Negaunee Music Institute and mentor Jessie Montgomery took six young composers and guided them through workshops of new pieces throughout the year. The Young Composers Initiative culminated in a concert featuring fellows of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago as performers. 

The Meraviglia Quartet, Elle Cho, Lauren Kim, Emily Chen, and Lucy Wu, coached by Rodolfo Vieira, performed at the Art of Masquerade Gala celebrating 70 years of the Deer Path Art League, Saturday, October 4 at the David Adler Estate in Lake Forest. 

Pianist Edie Park, student of Marta Aznavoorian and Winston Choi, performed Scarlatti, Beethoven, and Chopin on an Encore broadcast on WFMT Introductions on October 18, 2025.  

Pianist Edie Park performed Beethoven’s Fantasia for Piano, Chorus & Orchestra, Op.80 with the Fox Valley Orchestra on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at Crimi Auditorium at Aurora University.  

September


Cellist Lavie Huang, student of Avi Friedlander and violinist Eliana Song, student of Almita Vamos, were named winners of the Chicago Chamber Music Festival (CCMF) Concerto Competition 2025. Concerto competition winners performed with the Northeastern Illinois University Orchestra in the Collage Concert of October 24th, 2025. Lavie performed Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1, Mvt.1, and Eliana performed Lalo Symphonie Espagnole for Violin and Orchestra Location.  

Violinist Elle Cho, student of Almita Vamos, was featured on WFMT Introductions on Saturday, September 20, 2025. Introductions is WFMT’s weekly Saturday morning program that features talented pre-college classical musicians in the Chicago area.  

Alumni News


Violinist Sameer Agrawal, 20, former student of Sang Mee Lee, and Hun Jae Lim, 27,  former student of Shmuel Ashkenasi, have advanced in the 2026 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, to be held January 4 through January 18, 2026, at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fl. Sameer is a current student of Midori at the Curtis Institute of Music, as was Hun Jae Lim. 
 
Academy alumna Karisa Chiu, Class of 2017, student of Almita and Roland Vamos, recently released her first album titled HOME. Influenced by her Chicago upbringing, pandemic discoveries, and Korean and Chinese family roots, the recording reflects on the various interpretations of “home” in Chiu’s life, with works by Jean Sibelius, Claude Debussy, Augusta Read Thomas, Cyril Scott, and Gabriel Fauré. 

 

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