The first-prize winners of the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions are Steven Banks, saxophone (U.S.; 26); Martin James Bartlett, piano (Britain; 23); Albert Cano Smit, piano (Spain; 22); and the Quartet Amabile, a string quartet (Japan; violinists Yuna Shinohara, 26 and Chihiro Kitada, 23; violist Ms. Meguna Naka, 26; cellist Tatsuki Sasanuma, 24). The winners were chosen following a final audition round on November 17 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. The musicians will join the roster of Young Concert Artists, which will provide management services for three years, concert engagements including debuts in New York and Washington, D.C., publicity, and career guidance. Jury members at the Finals audition were Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet; Gary Graffman, Jerome Lowenthal, and Ilana Vered, piano; Lois Hicks-Wozniak, saxophone; Ida Kavafian, violin; Peter Oundjian, violin/conductor; Jorge Mester, conductor; Lorraine Nubar, voice; Randall Scarlata, baritone; Fred Sherry, cello; and Susan Wadsworth and Daniel Kellogg, co-chairs.
Posted November 25, 2019
