Meet the Performers
Nova Linea Musica announces the winners of its first Young Artist Chamber Music Competition, held May 18, 2026 in Chicago. The Valinor Trio takes first prize.
Publish Date:
May 30, 2026
This spring, Nova Linea Musica reached a milestone we have been building toward since our founding: the first NLM Young Artist Chamber Music Competition. On May 18, 2026, after a season of applications, preparation, and performance, seven exceptional ensembles took the stage in Chicago for our finals. We are thrilled to share the results.
When we launched Nova Linea Musica, the goal was always to close the distance between contemporary music and the people who hear it. Investing in the next generation of chamber musicians is a natural extension of that mission. These are the artists who will carry living repertoire forward, and giving them a platform, an audience, and meaningful support is one of the most hopeful things we do.
As NLM Founder and Executive Director Michele Mohammadi and Artistic Director Desirée Ruhstrat wrote in welcoming the finalists, the competition extends Nova Linea Musica's mission of resourcing new music creation and elevating the artists who carry chamber music forward.
One detail made the day especially meaningful for us: every work performed in the finals was written within the last seventy-five years. Drawing on the full breadth of the chamber repertoire, from string trios to a wind quintet to a saxophone quartet, these young ensembles built their programs around the voices of our own time, the same commitment that sits at the center of everything NLM programs.
First Place: Valinor Trio Cecilia O'Malley (violin), Gabriel Raviv (cello), Joseph Gallwas (piano)
Awarded $2,000 for a performance of Arno Babadjanian's Piano Trio in F-sharp minor. The Valinor Trio brought a depth of ensemble playing and interpretive maturity to this surging, lyrical score that set them apart in a remarkably strong field.
Second Place: Synchrony Quartet Philip Kleutgens (soprano saxophone), Hudson O'Reilly (alto saxophone), Matthew Johnson (tenor saxophone), Haven Kahn (baritone saxophone)
Awarded $1,500 for Caroline Shaw's Entr'acte, in an arrangement for saxophone quartet. The Synchrony Quartet drew out the wit, warmth, and sudden turns of Shaw's writing with precision, balance, and the confidence of a single collective voice.
Third Place: Tessera Quartet Lucy Nemeth (violin), Amina Knapp (violin), Erin Bang (viola), Daniel Dorsey (cello)
Awarded $1,000 for the first movement, Allegro, of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson's String Quartet No. 1, "Calvary." The Tessera Quartet played with clarity, commitment, and real character, honoring a work rooted in the African American spiritual that gives it its name.
Fiya Quartet Lisa An (violin), Tyler Lau (violin), Keitaku Iwata (viola), Kyle Ryu (cello)
The Fiya Quartet earned an Honorable Mention for Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8, meeting one of the most emotionally charged works in the repertoire with focus and intensity that drew the panel's admiration.
We are equally proud of the ensembles who reached the finals and shared their artistry with us.
Fabish Five Mateo Barileau (flute), Freya Schmid (oboe), Raymond Recklaus (clarinet), Kai Chamnankit (horn), Aadarsh Parameswaran (bassoon)
Performing Adam Schoenberg's Winter Music.
McClintock Piano Trio Hiu Sing Fan (violin), Yeeun Kang (cello), Paul Williamson (piano)
Performing Joan Tower's Big Sky.
Trio Wonder Beatrice Valenzuela (violin), Evan Mueller (violin), Darren Song (viola)
Performing Lucia Corini's BOMOCO Suite per terzetto d'archi.
Every group that advanced to the finals belongs in this story. Reaching this stage takes countless hours of rehearsal, a shared trust between players, and the courage to perform demanding repertoire at a high level. As we wrote to the finalists on competition day, chamber music asks something rare of its players: to listen as intently as you speak, to shape a phrase together that no one of you could shape alone. We were honored to host them.
We were grateful to have a panel of artists of the highest caliber guiding this first competition, and our deep thanks go to our three esteemed adjudicators.
Claire Huangci is an American concert pianist and First Prize winner of the 2018 Concours Géza Anda in Zurich, performing solo recitals, concertos, and chamber music at major venues worldwide including Carnegie Hall and the Elbphilharmonie. An expressive interpreter of Chopin, she is known for an unusually broad repertoire that reaches into the music of our own time.
Augusta Read Thomas is University Professor of Composition at the University of Chicago and director of its Center for Contemporary Composition, a Grammy Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist whose work has been performed more than almost any other living composer's. She served for nearly a decade as Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Jennie Oh Brown is a flutist and Executive Director of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras, where she leads one of the nation's premier youth music programs, and a longtime champion of new music and music education in Chicago.
Their care, expertise, and generosity of attention made the finals everything we hoped they would be.
Our heartfelt thanks go to our host, the Merit School of Music, for opening the Joy Faith Knapp Music Center in Chicago to today's finalists. And to the teachers, families, and mentors of every musician in the program: thank you. None of this happens without you. The hours you invest, often quietly and behind the scenes, are written into every note these young artists played.
The caliber of music we heard on May 18 left us more committed than ever to this part of our work. Chamber music thrives when young artists are given room to grow, and we are grateful to everyone who helped make this first competition possible, from the ensembles themselves to the audience members who came to listen.
We are fostering the next generation of chamber musicians not only on competition day but in the season that follows. Every finalist receives a recording of their performance to keep, along with an invitation to join us for a concert of our upcoming season as our guest. We want these young artists in the room, hearing living composers and new work, long after the finals are over.
We are already looking toward the next NLM Young Artist Chamber Music Competition. If you are an ensemble who would like to take part, you can register your interest here and we will reach out as soon as applications open: Join the early-interest list
Congratulations to all of our winners and finalists. We cannot wait to see where your music takes you, and we hope you will keep Nova Linea Musica close as your journey continues.
To learn more about Nova Linea Musica and our upcoming concerts, visit our season page and join us for what comes next.
How can my ensemble enter the next competition? Applications for the next Young Artist Chamber Music Competition are not open yet. Join the early-interest list and Nova Linea Musica will notify you as soon as they open: Join the early-interest list
Who won the NLM Young Artist Chamber Music Competition? The Valinor Trio won first prize, the Synchrony Quartet won second prize, and the Tessera Quartet won third prize. The Fiya Quartet received an Honorable Mention.
When and where was the competition held? The finals took place on May 18, 2026, at the Merit School of Music's Joy Faith Knapp Music Center in Chicago.
What repertoire did the ensembles perform? Every work in the finals was written within the last seventy-five years, ranging from a string trio to a wind quintet to a saxophone quartet, reflecting NLM's commitment to the music of our own time.
What are the prizes? The Valinor Trio received $2,000 for first prize, the Synchrony Quartet $1,500 for second, and the Tessera Quartet $1,000 for third, with the Fiya Quartet recognized with an Honorable Mention.
Who served as adjudicators? The finals were adjudicated by Claire Huangci, Augusta Read Thomas, and Jennie Oh Brown.
Nova Linea Musica is a Chicago-based contemporary chamber music series dedicated to commissioning new work, presenting world premieres, and closing the distance between composer, performer, and listener. Founded in 2024, each NLM season features a slate of world premieres by leading composers, performed by some of the finest chamber musicians of our time.
