Senior Division: Final Round Scholarship Competition Awards

Contestants are ranked by judges as to overall musical talent and preparedness for performing their concerto with The Phoenix Symphony. After the last performance on Sunday and judges’ deliberation, the following awards will be announced: The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner; The Clotilde Otranto 2nd Prize Winner; and Ranking for Awards.

The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner and The Clotilde Otranto 2nd Prize Winner: Prizes are awarded based on consideration of the following criteria:

  • Highest ranked contestant who has not previously received the The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize or The Clotilde Otranto 2nd Prize.
  • No contestant can win the The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize or The Clotilde Otranto 2nd Prize more than once. They may win each award once and perform with the Phoenix Symphony a total of two times.
  • The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner and The Clotilde Otranto 2nd Prize winner will perform their concerto accompanied by The Phoenix Symphony at Symphony Hall, Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 7:30pm. In order to perform with The Phoenix Symphony, the winner must be available for all scheduled rehearsals (February 3 from 1:00pm to 3:30pm and February 6 from 6:30 to 9:30pm (all rehearsal and performance dates / times are subject to change).
  • For a winner to receive the summer scholarship they must remain in good standing as a member of PYSO through the end of the 2023-2024 season. If a student withdraws from PYSO during the remainder of the season or is placed on probation for attendance issues or behavior, their scholarship will be cancelled.
  • The decision of the judges is final.
Congratulations to the winners of the 64th Annual Young Musicians Competition concluding on Sunday, January 7th, 2024.

All finalists win a scholarship to a camp or festival in the order of their final ranking. The Senior Division Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner and Clotilde Otranto 2nd Prize Winner will perform with the Phoenix Symphony at a later date. Congratulations to our finalists and all participants. Special thanks to all our judges, volunteers, and staff.

Junior Division Winners

Claire Guo (piano)
Jayden Yoneyama (violin)
Maddie Kim (cello)
Jake Shim – (clarinet)
Minjune Choi (french horn)

Senior Division

Finalists (Alphabetical Order)

Nelson Brock (alto saxophone)
Alex Gong (viola)
Lillie Harper (viola)
Kalista Kaiser (flute)
Abraham Kim (cello)
Elizabeth Ovelil (flute)
Charlie Pabst (cello)
Noah Thompson (oboe)
Yun-Tsai Yeh (violin)
Borong-Steven Zhang (viola)

The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner

Justin Kang (cello)

The Clotilde Otranto 2nd Prize Winner

Joshua Lee (violin)

2005
Grand Prize Winner: Veronica Shi (piano)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Nicholas Villalobos (bass)

2006
Grand Prize Winner: Emily Nebel (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner, Rachel Trenbeath (flute)

2007
Grand Prize Winner: Mia Laity (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Angel Chen (violin)

2008
Grand Prize Winner: Angel Chen (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Samuel Park (violin)

2009
Grand Prize Winner: Rudy Chen (piano)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Mia Laity (violin)

2010
Grand Prize Winner: Anna Han (piano)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Peter Eom (cello)

2011
Grand Prize Winner: Jalusha Kapoor (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Jeanelle Brierley (violin)

2012
Grand Prize Winner: Anes Sung (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Austen Yueh (clarinet)

2013
Grand Prize Winner: Jennifer Chiang (flute)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Connie Zhu (violin)

2014
Grand Prize Winner: Tiffany Chang (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Linda Han (violin)

2015
Grand Prize Winner: Kathleen Wu (flute)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Brigit Fitzgerald (bassoon)

2016
Grand Prize Winner: Bobae Johnson (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Tamachi Goodson (cello)

2017
Grand Prize Winner: Belle Wang (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Bobae Johnson (violin)

2018
Grand Prize Winner: Claire Thai (harp)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Leo Kubota (cello)

2019
Grand Prize Winner: Jessica Zhang (piano)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Belle Wang (violin)

2020
Grand Prize Winner: Ethan Yang (violin)
Clotilde Otranto Prize Winner: Daniel Walker (flute)

2021
Grand Prize Winner: Seungchan Aiden Min (violin)
First Runner Up: Jonathan Okseniuk (violin)

2022
The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner: Jonathan Okseniuk (violin)
First Runner Up: Vincent Claes (cello)

2023
The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner: Abraham Kim (cello)
First Runner Up: Seungchan (Aiden) Min (violin)

2024
The Jean and Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize Winner: Justin Kang (cello)
The Clotilde Otranto 2nd Prize Winner: Joshua Lee (violin)