Introductions | WFMT

Today we hear from Lily Yoshihara, a violinist from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative and from Midwest Conservatory in Schaumburg, and a student of Taka Matsunaga and Bernardo Arias. Lily plays Brahms, Bach and Wieniawski; plus the Fantasy No. 1 of Japanese composer Ikuma Dan. Yoahn Jon Kwon plays piano. Lily Yoshihara has been studying the violin under the instruction of Taka Matsunaga and Bernardo Arias at the Midwest Conservatory of Music since the age of five. Achievements include being named a finalist for From the Top‘s Learning and Media Lab Fellowship, playing as Concertmaster for the 2025 ILMEA All-State Honors Orchestra, honorable mentions at the Musical Festival in Honor of Confucius and the DePaul Concerto Festival, and winning the Birch Creek Clampitt Concerto Competition in Door County, Wisconsin, with the opportunity to perform solo with the orchestra in 2024. Lily has been a member of the Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013, where she performed at the Chicago International Music Festival and Los Angeles International Music Festival. Throughout the years, she has also participated in masterclasses under Robert Chen, Rachel Barton Pine, and Baird Dodge. In 2024, Lily joined the Chicago Music Pathways Initiative. As a member of CMPI, Lily was selected to participate in the Equity Arc Pathways Orchestra where she served as Co-Principal and performed alongside members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In the fall, Lily plans to pursue a Dual Degree in Violin Performance and Computer Science at the University of Michigan. The post Lily Yoshihara, 18, violin [https://www.wfmt.com/2025/06/28/lily-yoshihara-18-violin/] appeared first on WFMT [https://www.wfmt.com].

You can join us in person for this live Introductions episode – come to Merit School of Music [https://meritmusic.org/] (38 S Peoria St, Chicago). Doors open at 10:30am on Saturday June 21 for the live broadcast starting at 11:00am sharp. Robbie Ellis hosts. Free entry, no reservation required. This event is part of Make Music Chicago [https://makemusicday.org/chicago/listings/artists/3c9f686a-7fc8-4fb0-8254-704fd15885e4], a one-day festival of free music-making across the city. Jacob Cornejo, from Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood, is an 18-year-old flute player. He began his music education at the Merit School of Music, where went through the Music Conservatory Program. He served as a section leader in the Merit Philharmonic, Wind Symphony, and the award-winning chamber ensemble The Purple Hippopotami. As a fellow of Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative (CMPI), Jacob has received intensive pre-professional music training and has performed in masterclasses with internationally acclaimed flutists and chamber musicians. This year, he performed as Principal Flute with the National Pathways Festival Orchestra, alongside musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition, through the Negaunee Music Institute at the CSO, Jacob was invited to perform Mozart’s Concerto in G major at Symphony Center last March. Jacob studies flute woith Mariana Gariazzo and recently graduated from the Chicago High School for the Arts [https://chiarts.org/]. In the fall he will begin Flute Performance studies at DePaul University studying with Aaron Goldman and Alyce Johnson. He previously appeared on Introductions as a member of The Purple Hippopotami Flute Trio in September 2024 [https://www.wfmt.com/2024/09/21/the-purple-hippopotami-and-trioscuro/]. The post LIVE from Merit School of Music | Jacob Cornejo, 18, flute [https://www.wfmt.com/2025/06/21/live-jacob-cornejo-18-flute/] appeared first on WFMT [https://www.wfmt.com].

We welcome return guest Henry Auxenfans [https://www.henryauxenfans.com/] for a feature violin recital. He’s joined by his brother Louis Auxenfans on clarinet and pianist Nathan Canfield for Mozart, Glazunov, Perkinson, Fuchs, Franck and Wieniawski. Henry Auxenfans, 17-year-old violinist, is a senior at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. He has been honored with many regional, national and international competition successes including Grand Prize in the 2024 Enkor International Competition; First Prize at the 2022 United States Marine Band Concerto Competition in 2022; and being named a YoungArts winner in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Henry has performed at Carnegie hall twice as the First Place Winner of both the New York International Artists Association violin competition and of the American Protégé Competition. In addition, he also won first prizes & top prizes at the International Grumiaux Violin Competition, Leonid Kogan International Competition, the Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artist Competition, MTNA National Competitions, the DuPage Symphony Young Artists Auditions and the CYSO Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. As a result, he has soloed with many fine orchestras, including the United States Marine Chamber Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Lakeview Orchestra, and more. For the past five seasons, Henry has served as Concertmaster of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras’ flagship Symphony Orchestra, which included performing the extensive concertmaster solos of Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben. His violin teachers have included Robert Hanford, Frank Almond and Stacia Spencer; his chamber coaches are Larry Neuman, Qing Hou, Hsing-Huei Huang and Matous Michal; and his piano teacher is Laura Fenster. In addition, Henry has had the privilege of taking masterclasses with Midori Goto, Anne Akikko Meyers, Miriam Fried, Paul Huang, Rachel Barton Pine, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Ani Kavafian, Peter Zazofsky, Nikki Chooi, Agata Szymczewska, Timothy Chooi, Daniel Stabrawa, and Ronald Copes. Giving back to the community is at the top of his priorities. He performs at the Veteran Hospital, senior homes and local schools either solo or with his chamber groups. Henry is also the founder of the University of Chicago Laboratory School’s Music Ambassador Club, which provides performing opportunities for high schoolers. He performs on the fine 1730 “Royale” Seraphin, a violin by Sanctus Seraphin on a generous loan from the Hooper Family Foundation via the Becker Family Foundation. In the fall, he begins at Princeton University majoring in Violin Performance and Chemistry. Henry Auxenfans made his first appearance on Introductions as a 13-year-old in February 2021 [https://www.wfmt.com/2021/02/13/louis-auxenfans-16-clarinet-and-piano-henry-auxenfans-13-violin/]. He was on the show with CYSO as a soloist in August 2023 [https://www.wfmt.com/2023/08/12/soloists-from-chicago-youth-symphony-orchestras/] and as featured concertmaster in January 2023 [https://www.wfmt.com/2023/01/14/chicago-youth-symphony-orchestras-fall-2022-concert/]. He performed alongside his brother Louis live from Navy Pier in July 2022 [https://www.wfmt.com/2022/07/23/live-introductions-in-the-community-at-navy-pier/] and live from the Fay & Daniel Levin Performance Studio in June 2023 [https://www.wfmt.com/2023/06/10/live-louis-auxenfans-18-clarinet/]; and Louis and Henry were on Show 419 [https://fromthetop.org/show/show-419/] of NPR’s From the Top. [https://www.wfmt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/54533061924_6bf98605cb_o.jpg] Henry Auxenfans at a Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras concert, May 18, 2025. (Credit: Ed Spinelli.) The post LIVE | Henry Auxenfans, 17, violin [https://www.wfmt.com/2025/06/14/live-henry-auxenfans-17-violin/] appeared first on WFMT [https://www.wfmt.com].

We feature four graduating seniors from Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative [https://chicagopathways.org/], a program that supports pre-college orchestral musicians from underrepresented backgrounds. Music for flute, viola, cello and clarinet. [https://www.wfmt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jesse-Perez-square-Eric-Snoza-150x150.jpg] Credit: Eric Snoza. Jesse Perez is 17 and a senior at Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville. He has played flute in Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestras for the last five years, and in the ILMEA All-State Orchestra for the last two years. Jesse studies flute with Scott Metlicka of Northern Illinois University, and attended the Brevard Music Center in Summer 2024 under the guidance of Professor Amy Porter and Mrs. Delshad Posnock. Later this year Jesse will begin a major in Flute Performance with Alyce Johnson at the DePaul University School of Music. [https://www.wfmt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/David-Roche-square-Derek-Gould-150x150.jpg] Credit: Derek Gould. David Roche, 18 from Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, is a senior at Walter Payton College Prep. He is a Frank Little Merit Scholarship recipient at the Music Institute of Chicago where he studies viola with Sang Mee Lee. His previous teachers include Amy Biasello and Bridget Andes, in addition to training with Davis King and Jennifer Arnold at programs such as the Sphinx Performance Academy and Center Stage Strings. David has played with Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras for the past 7 years and served as Co-Principal Viola of the flagship CYSO Symphony Orchestra in 2024. David is a fellow of Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative and has also been a member of the Musical Arts Institute’s Chicago Urban Chamber String Ensemble. He has performed at the United Center, Northwestern Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Chicago State University, and Symphony Center. In the fall, David plans to attend Yale University to study Music and Economics. [https://www.wfmt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Diego-Dahle-square-150x150.jpg]Diego Dahle is a 17-year-old cellist from Evanston and a member of the Evanston Township High School Symphony Orchestra, the Midwest Young Artist Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. He began playing the cello at the age of nine, and studies with Richard Hirschl of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Roosevelt University. Diego is also a Fellow with Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. An avid chamber musician, Diego is a member of Quartetto Speranza, a top string quartet at MYAC coached by Desirée Ruhstrat of Northwestern University. This quartet has won second prize at 2025 Rembrandt Chamber Music Competition, first prize at the 2025 Chicago National Chamber Music Competitions, second prize at the 2025 Barnett Chamber Music Competition, and an honorable mention at the 2025 St. Paul String Quartet Competition. In the fall, Diego is set to attend the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. [https://www.wfmt.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Sarah-Morris-square-lo-res-150x150.jpg]Sarah Morris is a dedicated clarinetist from Chicago Heights with over a decade of experience. She began her musical journey at 9 years old, playing jazz clarinet before transitioning to classical performance. Since 2020, Sarah has been a fellow in the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative, where she’s participated in masterclasses with renowned clarinetists including Anthony McGill, Stephen Williamson, and Andrew Sandwick. The program has also afforded her opportunities to attend summer music festivals. Sarah currently performs with Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, and this summer, she will join CYSO on an international tour to Spain. Starting in the fall, Sarah plans to pursue a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Other Class of 2025 CMPI fellows appearing as soloists on Introductions are: – Jan Vargas Nedvetsky, cello, live on September 14, 2024 [https://www.wfmt.com/2024/09/14/live-jan-vargas-nedvetsky-18-cello/]. – Jacob Cornejo, flute, live from Merit School of Music on June 21, 2025 [https://www.wfmt.com/2025/06/21/live-jacob-cornejo-18-flute/]. – Lily Yoshihara, violin, on June 28, 2025 [https://www.wfmt.com/2025/06/28/lily-yoshihara-18-violin/]. The post Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative Class of 2025 [https://www.wfmt.com/2025/06/07/chicago-musical-pathways-initiative-class-of-2025/] appeared first on WFMT [https://www.wfmt.com].

Pieces by Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Debussy, Dohnányi, Shostakovich & Casarrubios performed by groups from Merit School of Music and the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. The post Chamber music for strings: Spizella Quartet, Luscinia Trio, Vermilion String Quartet [https://www.wfmt.com/2025/05/24/young-chamber-ensembles/] appeared first on WFMT [https://www.wfmt.com].