Celebrating the Class of 2025: The Academy

Another remarkable year comes to a close at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, and with it, we celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our graduating seniors. These dedicated young musicians have balanced rigorous musical training with academic excellence, and we are proud to share where their next chapters will begin as they head off to top universities across the country.

The Academy Orchestra and Senior Recognition Ceremony took place on Saturday, May 17 at Nichols Concert Hall. If you missed it, you can see the program and watch the recording here »

Matthew Hahn
Student of Marta Aznavoorian and Winston Choi 
Lake Forest, IL
Yale University, Economics & Mathematics 

“Not only does piano allow me to play a vast range of repertoire but I think just music in general, piano is an outlet for my expression, it can transcend so many different cultural boundaries. It’s very transformative. It has the power to heal.”

 Lily Sullivan 
Student of Grigory Kalinovsky
Bloomington, IN
The Colburn School, Los Angeles, CA, Violin Performance with  Martin Beaver

"My favorite Academy memory is playing at chamber music concerts with my friends."

 Simon Updegraff
Student of Avi Friedlander 
Wilmette, IL
Wells Scholar, Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 
Cello Performance with Eric Kim

"I have a lot of great memories playing in the Academy orchestra, and I have enjoyed the variety of music we’ve learned there. My favorite was when we played the Beethoven 7th Symphony during my first year here."

Vivian Van de Sype Cucu
Student of Davis KingMilwaukee, WI
Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 
Economics & Viola Performance with Helen Callus 

"My favorite Academy memory was playing the Arpeggione Sonata with the Academy Orchestra!! It was incredibly enjoyable and was definitely a full circle moment, as I played the same piece for my Academy audition 3 years prior!"

Jan Vargas Nedvetsky 
Student of Hans Jørgen Jensen 
Wilmette, IL 
Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 
Cello Performance with Hans Jørgen Jensen

"One of my favorite memories from academy was after the last day’s pizza party in my junior year, my academy friends came over to my house before the orchestra concert and we all played basketball and chess, and we had a really fun time. "
 

Romeo Vashishth
Student of Almita Vamos
Glenmont, NY
Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, OH, Violin Performance with Ilya Kaler

"My favorite academy memory isn’t a singular moment, but rather the collection of spontaneous interactions I shared with my friends at lunch every week. I am fortunate to call much of the Academy good friends; I always joke that I have no enemies here and even though I am not as close to some I have truly only had friendly and positive interactions with every single person. Being able to spend an hour each week interacting with and learning about all these amazing people, both as artists and as people has been a great honor, and one I will forever cherish."
 

Mingshi Xia
Student of Davis King 
Chicago, IL 
The Colburn School, Los Angeles, CA, Violin Performance with Robert Lipsett
 
"Looking back on my time at the Academy, I really appreciate how much it helped me grow into a more well-rounded musician. One of my favorite memories was playing the Shostakovich Piano and Trumpet Concerto in the Academy orchestra with Winston Choi — such a memorable and inspiring experience."

Tristan Zhu 
Student of Almita Vamos 
Chicago, IL
Stanford University, Stanford, CA, Physics & Violin Performance

"Sometimes I still can’t believe I had the opportunity to work with and get to know the truly inspirational friends that the Academy introduced me to. "
 

Congratulations, Class of 2025!