Performance Today Names Five Students for 2021-2022 Young Artist in Residency Series

ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 11, 2021 –Performance Today (PT), from YourClassical and distributed by American Public Media, has announced five young musicians who have been identified for the 2021-2022 Performance Today Young Artists in Residence Program (PTYA).   

Performance Today is the most popular, award winning classical music radio program in the country. PT works with the best conservatories from around the country to identify their top talent to take part in the PTYA Program each year.

Each Young Artist will have performances and interviews with host Fred Child recorded for broadcast and will participate in outreach to elementary and middle-school students. 

This year’s Young Artists include:

·         Anais Feller, violin, Colburn School of Music
Feller regularly participates in summer academies in Europe and the U.S. She won a gold medal at the Burgos International Festival Competition in Spain in 2019 and won second prize at The Southern California Philharmonic Young Artist Competition in 2020. Her recent performances include the Bach double concerto alongside Ray Chen at the Laguna Beach Music Festival and at the Basically Beethoven Festival in Dallas. Feller also devotes her time performing at charity events such as the Christmas charity concerts for the Brain Trauma Foundation and at the fundraising concert for Hurricane Harvey victims.

·         Ariel Sol (Ari) Bertulfo Schwartz, harp, Jacobs School of Music
Schwartz is a harpist and composer whose compositions have been recognized multiple times by the Illinois Music Education Association. He was selected as the Featured Young Composer of the American Harp Society in 2017. Schwartz has been tapped more than once by the Greater Chicago Chapter of the American Harp Society’s Scholarship Competition to perform as a soloist at Lyon & Healy. He has also played at the Peoria Civic Center, the Grant Park Music Festival’s Music in the Parks Series, St. Olaf College, and Dominican University’s Lund Auditorium. In his music, Schwartz strives to dismantle the traditional accessibility barriers associated with classical music and aims to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion on stage and within audiences.

·         Sterling Elliot, cello, The Juilliard School
Awarded first prize in the Senior Division of the 2019 22nd Annual Sphinx Competition, Elliot was the youngest finalist and even won the audience choice award. His recent performances were at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland which included a performance on the CNBC Television Network. Sterling had the honor of performing for French and American cellist YoY o Ma, and he also performed alongside recording artist Jennifer Hudson. He has won several awards throughout his career and is a two-time alum of NPR’s From the Top. Sterling is one of the youngest musicians to work as a sub for the New York Philharmonic and is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.

·         Tyler Martin, flute, Shepherd School of Music
Martin is an orchestral musician, freelance flutist and a private instructor. He plays with the Missouri Symphony Orchestra and subs with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, Martin was selected as a member of the 2020 Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra, Texas Music Festival Orchestra and was granted a teaching assistantship at Brevard Music Center. He has played in countries including Spain, France, Italy, Brussels, Switzerland and the Dominican Republic. A winner of numerous awards, his most recent were a first prize in the Houston Flute Club’s Byron Hester Competition, and second prize in the NY Flute Club and Austin Flute Society Young Artist Competition this year. Martin is passionate about teaching, music advocacy and amplifying BIPOC voices in classical music.

·         Hao Yang, classical guitar, Curtis Institute
Yang was recently honored as the winner of the Astral National Auditions. Her other prizes include placing first in the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition, the Andrés Segovia International Competition for Young Guitarists, and the Columbus State University Guitar Symposium international competition.  She has performed with the Chursächsische Philharmonie in Germany and at Beijing guitar festivals as well as venues including the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing, Princeton Sound Kitchen, SubCulture in New York, and Miller Theatre at Columbia University. She also appears on numerous recordings for Bridge Records Inc.

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About YourClassical
YourClassical® is a collection of curated classical music listening experiences and information produced by Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media®. YourClassical provides audiences with the music they love through terrestrial broadcasts and multiple web-based platforms. Nationally syndicated YourClassical programs include Pipedreams®, SymphonyCast®, Composers Datebook® and Performance Today®, and are in addition to the Radio, Lullaby, Relax, Peaceful Piano, and Holiday audio streams that can be found at YourClassical.org. Regional music programming produced by YourClassical MPR®, is a trusted companion for listeners across Minnesota on broadcast radio, web interfaces and live events. YourClassical MPR’s Kid’s Initiatives strives to inspire the next generation of music fans and artists through in-school learning experiences, educational content, and resources for teachers and parents. Each week, nearly 2.75 million people engage with YourClassical . Learn more and listen at yourclassical.org.

About American Public Media
American Public Media® (APM) is the national programming and distribution division of Minnesota Public Radio® and reaches over 17 million listeners with nearly 1,000 public radio stations and over 400 commercial stations nationwide each week. APM is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world, with a portfolio that includes BBC World Service, Marketplace®, and the leading classical music programs in the nation. APM Studios, a division of APM, offers a diverse array of podcasts featuring the best in food, culture, entertainment, business and investigative journalism. For more information on APM, visit americanpublicmedia.org.  Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio, Nationwide DMA data, Persons 12+, Spring ‘21.