Maggie Bai, Piano | 2025-2026 YA Concerto Competition Winner

Maggie Bai, 14, is a rising freshman in the Nobles and Greenough High School. She started taking piano lessons at the age of four and is a pianist of extraordinary promise. She currently studies with Angel Ramon Rivera and Kanako Nishikawa. Maggie is enrolled at the New England Conservatory (NEC) and is a selected member of the Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar (CHIPS). She studies chamber music with Laura Blustein, Sammy Andonian, and Peter Zazofsky. Maggie's musical achievements include First Prize in the Steinway Society Piano Competition, the International Young Artists Competition (NLPA), the XV Chopin International Piano Competition, the Michael H. Welles Wellesley Symphony Young Soloist Competition, and the New England Philharmonic Young Artists Competition. She has also won prizes at the Concord Orchestra Young Artists Concerto Competition, and the Brockton Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition. She is honored to have performed in Jordan Hall; Boston NEC, Concord Center, Carnegie Hall; New York, Ganz Hall; Roosevelt University, Liszt’s house; Weimar, and the Schumann Museum; Leipzig. Maggie’s passion for music extends beyond concerts and competitions. In addition to piano, she enjoys singing in musicals and studying Bel canto. She is an avid accompanist for multiple choirs and often volunteers at service events, sharing her musical talents with the community.

Gabriel Jojatu, Cello | 2025-2026 YA Concerto Competition Runner Up

Gabriel began studying piano at age 6 and cello at age 7. He began advancing rapidly on the cello and it became his main instrument soon after. At age 8 he entered New England Conservatory Preparatory School to study cello performance, chamber music and orchestra. At NEC he is part of the prestigious CHIPS (Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar) program which gives him opportunities to perform in Jordan Hall and have masterclasses with renowned teachers and artists. As part of the CHIPS program, Gabriel’s trio was chosen to play in the NEC 75th anniversary gala in November 2025. At the same gala, Gabriel was also selected as principal cellist of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert.

In the summer of 2025 Gabriel made his solo with an orchestra debut, performing Polonaise de Concert by Popper with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Ronald Feldman, at the Esplanade Hatch Shell in Boston. In January 2026 Gabriel will perform Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra. In the fall of 2024, Gabriel won second prize in the NEC Prep concerto competition, performing Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1. 

Gabriel is part of a musical family, with both mother and father being members of The Boston Symphony Orchestra, and his older sister at Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. Together they play in different group combinations and perform recitals.

Gabriel’s current cello teachers are Luis Claret and Ronald Lowry. Past teachers included Nancy Hair, Laura Blustein, Mihail Jojatu.

Philip Jeong, Cello | 2025-2026 YA Concerto Competition Runner Up

Fifteen-year-old cellist Philip Jeong has emerged as one of the most promising young talents of his generation, recognized for his depth of expression, poised stage presence, and heartfelt dedication to sharing the beauty of music. He began his cello studies at the age of nine and made his solo debut only three years later at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, a milestone that marked the beginning of his blossoming career as both a performer and musical storyteller.

Since then, Philip has captivated audiences as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra, the Alpharetta Symphony Orchestra, and the Gwinnett County Youth Symphony Orchestra, having won each orchestra’s concerto competition. His musical voice has also been featured in performances at Morgan Concert Hall at Kennesaw State University as winner of the MTNA Senior String Competition and MTNA Junior String Competition, and at Carlos Museum Ackerman Hall at Emory University, where he appeared as an invited Atlanta Young Artist for the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta Family Concert.

Philip’s artistry has been recognized on both national and international stages. He is a multiple winner of concerto and international music competitions held across the United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Philip currently studies with Ms. Ji Young Lee and Dr. James Kim, and previously trained under Mr. Lluís Claret and Dr. Jesús Castro-Balbi.