My name is Jasmine Agüero, and I'm a cellist, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist. The cello has always felt like an extension of my voice, carrying me through everything from classical ensembles to rock bands.
View BioAmelia Allen began studying cello at the age of 8 with Sarah Berry at Western Kentucky University (WKU). By 11, she decided that she would be playing music for the rest of her life.
View BioEthan Alvarez is a cellist from South Florida and a student at Coral Reef Senior High School.
View BioStephen Arthur is an undergraduate cello performance major at the University of Tennessee’s Natalie L. Haslam College of Music, where he studies under Dr. Wesley Baldwin.
View BioAurora Miller, age 20, is a student of Sibbi Bernhardsson at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Aurora began studying the violin at age 3. Her first teachers were Kristen Krauss, and Katherine Gerson, and she later studied with Nurit Pacht, Lucie Robert, and Elizabeth Chang.
View BioCharlotte Balaze is a 17 year old from Orange County, California. Since starting cello at three years old, she has been inseparable from the cello and is currently studying with Sarah Koo.
View BioAika Birch, 16, attends Jackson High School in Massillon, Ohio. She began studying violin at the age of three with Dr. Marlene Moses and currently studies with Jung-Min Amy Lee, Associate Concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra. Aika has been a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO) under the direction of Daniel Reith since and served as Concertmaster for the Fall 2024 concert.
View BioViolist Brayden Wu, 16, studies with Sang Mee Lee and is a Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. He has previously been a member of the Midwest Young Artists and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra programs, and he has been accepted to the top orchestras.
View BioArmand Brown is an aspiring cellist currently studying at Northern Arizona University under Karlos Rodriguez. He loves all things music and enjoys exercise and nature.
View BioBrendan Callies is a Senior Cello Performance Major at Wayne State University, currently studying with Una O'Riordan.
View BioRony Castro is a freshman attending the UMKC conservatory for a Bachelors in Cello Performance He started playing the cello when he was 15 years old in August of 2021. He lived in Guatemala before moving to the U.S. to attend School.
View BioAt 15 years old, Hugh Choi is an accomplished cellist who began his musical journey at the age of 9. He currently studies under Dr. Rylie Harrod and Dr. Seulki Lee.
View BioBrynn Cogger is a violist from Seattle, Washington. She is a rising third-year student of Masumi Per Rostad at the Eastman School of Music, where she was the principal of the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra.
View BioBorn into a musical family, Summer has been exposed to beautiful music from a very young age. Beginning her cello studies with Lisa Collins at the age of 7, Summer quickly progressed and has blossomed into a serious young artist.
View BioKeira Cromwell is a 16-year-old cellist from Iowa City, Iowa, and a sophomore at Laurel Springs Academy. She began her musical journey at the age of three with Laura Shaw at the Preucil School of Music and has steadily grown her skills and passion for music over the years.
View BioSophia Cui, age 14, is a rising 10th grader at Conestoga High School. She has been studying cello with Mrs. Jennifer Jie Jin since the age of seven.
View BioWillem Damron is entering his junior year at Walled Lake Western High School in Commerce Township, MI.
View BioThe 2024–25 season marks Abby Deeter’s ninth year as a devoted cellist. An incoming freshman at the University of Tennessee studying music performance, Abby recently graduated from Lindbergh High School, where she played in the Symphony Orchestra and Strolling Strings.
View BioViolist Liam DeRosa, age 18, has performed nationally and internationally as a chamber and orchestral musician. He is currently finishing his senior year at Cranston High School East, where he has spent his high school career serving as Concertmaster of the Orchestra and on the Executive Board of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, among other several non-musical activities.
View BioAmi Dutson is studying cello performance at Utah State University. This fall will be her senior year.
View BioAddison Ellis-Otovo is a 13-year-old violist who attends District of Columbia International School and is currently the youngest National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellow. An avid fan of chamber music, Addison also plays in a quartet with the 9th Street Chamber Music Intensive and a duo as part of the National Symphony Orchestra’s Youth Fellowship Program.
View BioZack Findlay is a junior at Thomas Worthington High School, and is just starting his cello career. He was a finalist at the 2025 Columbus Symphony Young Musician’s Concerto Division,
View BioGaven Finnon, a rising sophomore at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, began his musical journey at the age of four. He studies with Miriam Bolkosky.
View BioJoanna Frank is an undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati- College Conservatory of Music. She received an honors diploma from the Eastman Community Music School, where she studied with Christopher Haritatos
View BioTali Gastwirth is a 16-year-old violinist and rising 11th grade student at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois where she is a member of New Trier’s Symphony Orchestra.
View BioSabine Rhodes Han began playing violin at the age of 4, studying with Margaret Gutierrez. She is currently studying with Claude Sim, Associate Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
View BioLavie Huang, now 14 years old, heard “The Swan” on the radio and immediately fell in love with the cello a couple of months before her sixth birthday.
View BioMika Inoue is a sophomore at School Without Walls in Washington DC. She is student through the Levine School of Music where she has studied with Dr. Judith Ingolfsson at the Peabody Institute for two years.
View BioSeth Israel is from Wyoming, Ohio and will be a first-year student at the Eastman School of Music in the fall majoring in viola performance and music education in the studio of Professor George Taylor.
View BioJoshua Kang is 15 years old and lives in Williamsburg, VA. He began playing cello at the age of six with Mrs. Susan Hines and currently studies with Mr. Michael Daniels.
View BioRebekah began studying the violin at the age of five and is currently a student of Professor Desiree Ruhstrart.
View BioSujin Kim is a rising 8th grader at Menlo Park Academy in Cleveland, OH. She has played the violin since age 6 and has studied under Cleveland Orchestra First Violin, Wei-Fang Gu, since May 2020. Sujin placed 1st and 2nd at the Aurora School of Music’s Annual Young Artist Competitions in 2024 and 2023; 2nd at Lakeland Civic Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition in 2025 and 2023; and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th at the Annual Cleveland Sigma Alpha Iota String Competition in 2023, 2022, and 2025, respectively.
View BioJulia Kleindorfer, 16, studies cello with Elizabeth Wright at the Colburn School. In the 2023-24 season, she served as Principal Cellist of the Colburn Sinfonietta and performed as a soloist with the orchestra.
View BioHi, my name is Victor Li and I am from Oxford, OH. I have been playing the cello for 7 years and my favorite composers include Bach, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff - if I had to choose, my favorite piece for cello is probably Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations.
View BioAndrew Maxwell is a violinist and vocalist pursuing a Bachelor of Music at Oberlin Conservatory under Sibbi Bernhardsson.
View BioReese Melton is a 17 year old cellist who currently is attending Sheldon High School in Eugene Oregon. She began playing cello at 4 years old and currently studies under Emily Graff-Uhlman. Reese also studied under Lowell Adams, professor at the University of Tampa for two years.
View BioJuliette Mikautadze is a violist from Fort Wayne, Indiana, currently pursuing a performance degree at University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, studying in Catharine Lees’ studio.
View BioGrace Miller is a third-year undergraduate student studying with Western Michigan University cello professor Bruce Uchimura.
View BioEllie Millette is 18 years old and has been studying violin with Lee Taylor since she was six years old. During her freshman year of high school, Ellie participated in the Emory Youth Chamber Program (EYCP) coached by the Vega quartet.
View BioSonya Moomaw is a freshman at The School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA). She was inspired to play cello at a young age.
View BioCellist Isabel Morales, 18, is a recent graduate of the Girard Academic Music Program in Philadelphia, where she played principal cello in the orchestra; sang in the choir, concert choir and All-City Choir; and participated onstage in the cast of the musicals (Karen, Mean Girls; Tanya, Mamma Mia!).
View BioEvan Mueller is a 15-year-old violinist and rising Sophomore at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. Evan studies the violin under Desiree Ruhstrat. Like each of the musicians at Ascent, Evan has achieved music-related accolades and honors; however, his favorite part of studying the violin is making music with others.
View BioSamuel Nguyen, age 14, studies cello with Kirsten Cassel-Greer through Blair Academy at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. Samuel first began with violin at age five and added cello to his musical studies at age 10. His growing love for the cello, both its sound and repertoire, became more apparent each year, and he transitioned to solely studying cello at age 13.
View BioAda Ortan is currently attending the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance.
View BioAdriana Ossi is a 14-year-old violinist whose interest in music has grown deep with the teaching of Professor Melissa Barrett and Mrs. Aurelia Duca. She joined the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra’s (JSYO) Foundation Strings at age 7. The following year she was accepted to Premier Strings where she served as Concertmaster.
View BioLouis Ossi is a rising high school junior violinist under the instruction of Melissa Barrett. He joined the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra’s (JSYO) Premier Strings as assistant principal and progressed to the Repertory Orchestra where he served as Concertmaster under Maestra Deanna Tham.
View BioAnnelise Ossi is a twelfth-grade violinist who has been part of Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestra (JSYO) for eight seasons. She pursues violin studies under the mentorship of Ms. Adelya Nartadjieva, after five years of study with Ms. Melissa Barrett.
View BioJean Park is a 15-year-old freshman at Marquette High School. She began playing piano at the age of 5 and switched to violin when she was 8. She is currently studying with Pavel Ilyashov and continues to grow musically.
View BioNrusingha Rath is studying violin performance as a first-year student at Waikato University with Prof Dr Lara Hall.
View BioAutumn Rinaldi has been studying the cello since age 5, when she first discovered her passion for cello after seeing one being played at a friend’s birthday party. A rising junior at Cincinnati Country Day School, Autumn, 16, lives in Indian Hill, Ohio.
View BioDavid Roche is a Frank Little Merit Scholarship recipient at the Music Institute of Chicago where he studies with Sang Mee Lee.
View BioGabriel Roth, from Maplewood, NJ, is a violinist whose interests span multiple genres. Recent performance collaborations include Enrico Gatti and ARTEK, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
View BioAs an emerging performing violinist, Emily Cassandra Sandoval has performed in numerous performances, including the 2024 Ascent International Chamber Music Festival, the 2023 Dreamers Arts Festival in South Florida, where she performed with the renowned duo Black Violin, and the production of Handel's Messiah alongside the UNF Chamber Singers and the Lawson Ensemble.
View BioAki Santibañez, 16, started playing violin at the age of three. This year, she won the Sinfonietta Bel Canto (SBC) Concerto Competition and last year Merit School of Music’s Concerto Competition. She has also won prizes at the Sejong Music Competition and the DePaul University Concerto Festival.
View Bio14-year-old Will Savage will start 9th grade this fall in Overland Park, KS. He studies with Susie Yang and wishes to pursue a career as an orchestral cellist.
View BioViolinist, Alanna Schubert is an avid chamber musician from Waco, Texas. Currently studying under Sibbi Bernhardsson at Oberlin Conservatory, she has participated in several festivals including Credo Chamber Music, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival, Heartland Chamber Music Festival, and the McDuffie Center for Strings Labor Day Festival.
View BioRhys Scott, 12, is an enthusiastic cellist who studies with Dr. Melissa Kraut. Rhys attends University School and his favorite subjects in school are history, creative writing and art.
View BioJocelyn Scully,19, is a sophomore violist at Boston Conservatory studying with Paul Laraia.
View BioJasper Sewell is a rising sophomore at the Rice University Shepherd School of Music, studying under Paul Kantor. While in high school, he studied with Vanderbilt University professor Carolyn Huebl and performed with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera in southeast Tennessee, first as a violist and then a first violinist.
View BioAnnalise Song, 16, is a scholarship student at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians. She studies violin with Almita Vamos.
View Bio16-year-old violinist Noëlle Streuber-Eden’s performances have been described as virtuosic, inspired, and musically mature beyond her years. After her solo debut with the Lakeside Artists in 2021, her musical journey has taken her to the stages of New York’s Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Andrea Clearfield’s renowned Philadelphia Szalon, Harpa/ Iceland, and various locations in Germany.
View BioKrish Subramanian studies cello performance at the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. A native to the area, he has been a member of multiple ensembles such as the CCM Philharmonia, Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra Philharmonic and the OMEA All-state orchestra.
View BioA junior at Avon High School, Liya has been playing cello for thirteen years and piano for eleven through the Suzuki Program at the Hartt School Community Division (HCD). Her cello journey began with Carmen Irons and has continued with Blake Brasch. She has been studying piano under the tutelage of Malgosia Lis. Liya’s orchestral experience started in the Suzuki String Orchestras and has continued in the Connecticut Youth Symphony (CYS) where she has been serving as Principal Cellist since 2023.
View BioIsabella Thomas is a freshman at the University of North Florida where she studies under Professor Nick Curry.
View Bio18-year-old New York City-based cellist and pianist, Philip Thompson, started studying music at a very young age as part of his homeschool curriculum.
View BioDanae is a 17 year old violinist currently based in Philadelphia, PA. She started playing the violin at 6 years old, fascinated with the high tones the instrument made.
View BioAlex Tuan is currently a rising senior at the Eastman School of Music under the guidance of Professor Joseph Johnson. His other primary mentors include Professor Guy Johnston and Professor Victor Coo.
View BioEighteen-year-old Hungarian-American cellist, Julia Ungvari began her studies at the age of seven. She currently studies with Dr. Angelika Machnik-Jones at the Oklahoma Conservatory of Music.
View BioGerrit Vanderschoot is a BM Cello Performance Major and rising junior at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He is a cellist in the St. Olaf Orchestra and also works as the assistant student manager of the ensemble.
View BioMarc Vredenburg is a cellist from Buffalo, New York. He has performed at prestigious events including NAfME All-Eastern Orchestra in 2023, NYSSMA All-State Orchestra in 2023 and 2024, and is a member of the Clarence Summer Orchestra.
View BioHelen began playing the cello at the age of five and has since developed a deep passion for music. As a dedicated soloist, she strives to bring both technical excellence and emotional depth to her performances.
View BioCellist Isaac Ward, age 17, is a student of Dr. Melissa Kraut, and studies piano with Dr. Timothy Smith at the University of Alaska in his hometown of Anchorage.
View BioKai Werlinsky is currently pursuing a double degree in Violin Performance and Physics at Oberlin College and Conservatory, where he studies with Sibbi Bernhardsson.
View BioAnastasia Wilson fell in love with the cello in her public school program at the age of nine. Shortly after that, she began taking lessons at the Omaha Conservatory of Music and she joined the Omaha Area Youth Orchestras.
View BioCatherine Yang, 17, is from Zionsville, Indiana, and will attend Walnut Hill School for the Arts in the fall semester. Catherine began playing the cello at age 10, and she has studied with Austin Huntington for 3 years
View BioAlina Ying is a cellist from Rochester, New York, currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in cello performance at DePaul University. She is a student of Dr. Melissa Kraut, whom she studied with previously at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
View BioCristian Yohannes is a 19-year-old violist from Frisco, Texas. Cristian began his studies in viola at the age of 11, previously under the tutelage of Rachel Li McDonald. He currently studies Viola Performance at the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Professor Masumi Per Rostad.
View BioShira Zemach is a Masters graduate of The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where she studied with the violinists and pedagogues Chaim Taub and Roi Shiloah. Shira is supported by the "America Israel Cultural Foundation" and “The Ronen Foundation", and was also a scholarship recipient as a member of the "Younes and Soraya Nazarian Chamber Music Excellence Program".
View BioYiguo Zhang is a high school-aged violinist in the Philadelphia area. He currently studies violin with Shelley Beard at Settlement Music School. He has had masterclasses with world-class musicians such as Randall Goosby, Rebecca Henry, and the Grammy- nominated Catalyst and Dover Quartets.
View BioEastman Artist Scholar Victoria Zhao is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Violin Performance at the Eastman School of Music under Yoojin Jang.
View BioTheodora Bowne, aged twenty three, first began playing cello at the age of five, and recently graduated from Miami University (Ohio) where she pursued a degree in cello performance studying with Dr. Sarah Kim.
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