Emi Ferguson: Hello, I am Emi Ferguson, and tonight we are celebrating some of the winners of the 2025 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant on this edition of the McGraw Family's Young Artists Showcase.

[music]

Now in its 49th year, the Young Artists Showcase is generously underwritten by the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. Tonight, we're celebrating a few of the winners of the Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant. The Salon de Virtuosi has often been called the Best Kept Secret in New York, but if you're a longtime listener of this program, you know that that secret is very much out. Thanks to the extraordinary performances we've been lucky to share from the salon over the years.

The Salon is dedicated to discovering and supporting outstanding young musicians, awarding $5,000 scholarship and career grants each year to artists on the rise. Since the fellowship program began in 1995, the salon has contributed more than $600,000 in support for young artist careers. As someone who once received this award, I can say from experience how much that encouragement matters, and it's always such a joy to get to celebrate this new crop of winners each year here on the Young Artists Showcase.

Tonight we'll be hearing performances from violinists Ava Pakiam, and Ana Isabella España, and The Dolphin String Quartet. We'll hear the other two career grant winners, Chaeyoung Park and Risa Hokamura, in an upcoming showcase broadcast. Let's kick things off with American Composer Amy Beach's Romance Opus 23, performed by violinist Ava Pakiam with pianist Cole Anderson.

[MUSIC - Ava Pakiam, violin; Cole Anderson, piano: Romance Opus 23]

[applause]

Violinist Ava Pakiam and pianist Cole Anderson performing Amy Beach's Romance. What an incredible performance to begin our evening. Our next career grant recipient grew up here in New York City, 18-year-old violinist Ana Isabella España, who began her musical journey at the age of four at Opus 118's Harlem School of Music. She graduated from the Kaufman Music Center's Special Music School and is currently in the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange Program, majoring in psychology at Columbia University while continuing her violin studies at the Juilliard School. Here's Ana Isabella España with pianist Taketo Kataoka performing Hubay's Carmen Fantaisie.

[MUSIC - Ana Isabella España, violin; Taketo Kataoka piano: Carmen Fantaisie]

[applause]

Violinist Ana Isabella España with pianist Taketo Kataoka performing Hubay's Carmen Fantaisie. We'll hear more from Ana at the end of our program tonight. For now, we're going to take a quick break, and when we return, we'll hear more from this year's winners of the Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant. Welcome back to the Young Artists Showcase. I'm Emi Ferguson, and this is the Dolphin String Quartet. One of this year's Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant Winners performing Leroy Anderson's Plink, Plank, Plunk!.

Tonight on the show, we're celebrating three of the five winners of the 2025 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grants. The Dolphin String Quartet and Composers Collective are a group dedicated to uniting spirits through musical interpretation, innovation, and improvisation. Based in New York City and formed at the Juilliard School, The Dolphins strive to make chamber music vibrant, relevant, personal, and reflective of our time. Their programs regularly feature works from the classical canon alongside underappreciated gems and original compositions.

Let's hear them perform Erwin Schulhoff's Five Pieces for String Quartet. Schulhoff is a composer who fused together so many different types of musical styles, many of which he celebrates in this piece. You'll hear dances from Vienna, Argentina, and Italy, just to name a few. Here's The Dolphin String Quartet performing Erwin Schulhoff's Five Pieces for String Quartet.

[MUSIC - The Dolphins Quartet: Five Pieces for String Quartet]

[applause]

The Dolphin String Quartet performing Schulhoff's Five Pieces for String Quartet live at the Salon de Virtuosi Winners Awards concert. For our final piece tonight, let's return to violinist Ana Isabella España. She is joined once again by pianist Taketo Kataoka for a performance of Sarasate's Romanza Andaluza.

[MUSIC - Ana Isabella España, violin; Taketo Kataoka piano: Romanza Andaluza]

[applause]

Violinist Ana Isabella España, one of our 2025 Salon de Virtuosi winners, with pianist Taketo Kataoka performing Pablo de Sarasate's Romanza Andaluza. What an amazing group of performers. Stay tuned for Part 2 of our celebration, where we will feature two more of the salon's winners, Chaeyoung Park and Risa Hokamura. The Young Artists Showcase is generously underwritten on WQXR by the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. Special thanks to Lora Tchekoratova, and the Salon de Virtuosi. Here's Terry McGraw with more.

Terry McGraw: Good evening, everyone. It's great to be with you, and it's always great being with the Young Artists Showcase and to hear these really wonderful and inspiring musicians as they continue to share their incredible gifts with us every week. I can't wait to hear the fabulous talent coming up on the showcase, and I am so pleased to be able to support the series all through. It's well over four decades on WQXR, and there's so much more to come.

Emi Ferguson: Thank you, Terry, and many thanks to WQXR program Producer Laura Boyman. Our generous program underwriter is the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Family Foundation. I'm Emi Ferguson. Goodnight.

[music] [applause]

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