Student and Alumni News

This past fall violinist Roni Shitrit (BM ’22) won first prize in the “Young Artist” category of the North Carolina MTNA Competition, and was a finalist in the Atlanta Symphony’s 46th Annual Ruth Kern Young Artists Concerto Competition.

Violinist Luca Kevorkian (BM ’22) won the North Carolina Symphony Concerto Competition in 2019. His performance of Tchaikovsky Concerto with NC Symphony was not possible this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Violinist Bella Ward (BM ’22) has completed a recording by her ensemble Water the Band, entitled “Everyone’s Home.” This debut album of original music in the folk genre with classical influences will be released in May.

Cellist Josie Greenwald (BM ’21) was named Assistant to the Executive Director of the Eastern Music Festival for the 2020 summer season.

Cellist Johanna Di Norcia, (HS ’20) UNCSA Student Government President and a top prize winner of the 2018 NC-MTNA Competition, will continue at UNCSA for undergraduate study.

Violinist Rosemarie Nelson (HS ’21) won a 2020 Semans Art Fund grant for summer study. 

Violinist Amanda Goodwin (MM, ’20) has won funding from Southern Illinois University to develop and direct a new violin program in Edwardsville, IL for students who do not have access to public school music programs.

Violinist Ruth Kelley (HS ’20) was awarded a fellowship from the Sphinx Foundation covering all travel and hotel expenses for the SphinxConnect conference in February. After participating in the National Youth Orchestra USA during the summer of 2019—performing at Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, and on an extensive European tour supported by a complete scholarship from Carnegie Hall’s Weill Foundation, she was awarded a position in the NYO again for the summer of 2020. This invitation to participate in the program a second time is an unusual honor. Ruth will begin Bachelors study at UNCSA this fall as a recipient of the Kenan Scholarship, which will provide all expenses for her college study.

Violinist Joohyun Lee (MM, ’19, PAC 20) served this past year as Office/Production General Administrator for the Yellow Barn Music Festival.

Cellist Adithya Muralidharan (BM ‘20) won the 2019 Prague Summer Nights Concerto Competition with Dvorak Concerto. His performance this summer with the festival orchestra has been put on hold due to COVID-19. He will attend New England Conservatory next year as a master’s student in the studio of Yeesun Kim.

Violinist Maitreyi Muralidharan (MM, ’20) was awarded a principal position in the National Repertory Orchestra for this summer; this program will unfortunately not able to be held because of COVID-19. 

Violist David Schmitz (MM ’20) won full scholarship and performed at Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein Festival in 2019. 

Violinist Delphine Skene (BM ’18, MM, ’20) attended the 2019 Prague Summer Nights Festival andwill be entering the DMA program at SUNY at Stonybrook this fall with a three-quarter scholarship. This past year, Delphine, along with her string colleagues Raphael Papo (violin BM ’23), David Schmitz (viola, MM ’20) and Adithya and Maitreyi Muralidharan (see above), won fellowships to perform for the year with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle.

Bassist Nicholas Smentkowski (MM, ‘20) will enter Florida State University this fall as a doctoral student.

Bassist Victor Stahoviak (BM ’20) will attend Northwestern University for graduate school.

Violinist Dominique Valenzuela (BM ’20) will enroll with a full scholarship in the inaugural class of the Tianjin Juilliard School masters program as a student of Guillaume Sutre.

Violinist Eva Wetzel (BM ’18) attended the Saratosa Festival in 2019 on a full scholarship, and graduated this spring with a master’s degree from Yale University where she received full scholarship and served as a teaching assistant in music theory.

Cellist Eli Kaynor (MM '16, PAC '17) has joined the Teaching Artist Faculty of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Cellist Benjamin Maxwell (HS '17) attended the 2019 Heifetz International Music Institute where he was featured in several "Stars of Tomorrow" performances. He also performed with "Heifetz On Tour" during the 2019-2020 season.

After graduating with a master’s from Rice University in spring of 2019, violinist Kevin Murphy (BM ’17) attended the Schleswig-Holstein Festival on full scholarship, and is currently teaching at Houston’s Vivaldi Music Academy and the Campbell Learning Center.

In the spring of 2019, Lucia Kobza (MM ’15, PAC ‘16) was named violist of the San Francisco-based Friction Quartet. That same summer she competed as a violinist in the Rosen-Shaffel Competition in North Carolina, winning Third Prize and the Audience Prize for her performance. The following fall she appeared as soloist with the Western Piedmont Symphony performing the Vivaldi Four Seasons.

In May of 2019, Nathalie Schmalhofer (HS ’16) won Third Prize in the International Antonio Bigonzi Competition Italy.

Violinist Emilia Sharpe (HS ’16) was a finalist and the Audience Prize winner in this spring’s Ronald Sachs International Music Competition, and is currently studying at the Robert Schumann University of Music and Media in Düsseldorf, Germany on a full scholarship. She is also a ’19-’20 recipient of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Stipendium, Germany’s most important scholarship supporting foreign study, and the Deutschlandstipendium.

Judson Baines (HS ’14) was named Assistant Principal Bass of the Charlotte Symphony in March.

Cellist Louise Grevin (MM ’12, PAC ’13) explores a mix of classical, jazz and tango with two experimental groups, The Horizons Trio (piano, clarinet and cello) and Louise & Hubert (cello and bandoneon.) She is also a founder of the Toulouse Music School in France, where they offer music lessons in English.

Bassist Robert Widlowski (BM ’13) continues to perform in the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra in Japan. 

Kyle Colina (BM ’11) performed as bassist for Phantom of the Opera on Broadway this winter.

Christian Gray (HS ’10) returned to the UNCSA campus to give an orchestral repertoire master class for the double bass studio.  Christian plays in the Washington National Opera/Kennedy Center Orchestra.

Violinist Jessica McJunkins (BM ’09) has received an Alumni Artpreneur of the Year Award from UNCSA in the creative project category for her work as a cultural equity contractor for artists of color. She will be invited to campus in the fall to celebrate this award. Jessica was recently featured for her freelance work in "Jessica McJunkins goes 'On The Run' with Beyoncé and Jay-Z."

Rion Wentworth (HS ’99), the newest member of the New York Philharmonic double bass section, was scheduled to be on campus for a residency this past March as a member of an ensemble made of members of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and friends to perform works of Antonin Dvorak and Ken Frazelle. Unfortunately the concert was postponed due to COVID-19 closures.