The winners of this year's virtual concerto competition are...
Boston Youth Symphony
Winner: Alexander Erlich-Herzog, Clarinet. Mozart, Clarinet Concerto in A Major.

Repertory Orchestra
Winners:
Eileen Ho, Violin. Bruch, Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, mvt. 1
Abigail Shin, Violin. Saint-Saëns, Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, mvt. 1

Congratulations to everyone that participated! Read more about our talented concerto competition winners, Alexander, Eileen, and Abigail below:

Alexander Erlich-Herzog is a 12th-grade homeschool student residing in Concord, Massachusetts. He started playing the piano at the age of five and the clarinet when he was ten. While spending a year in Portugal in 2017-2018, he began studying clarinet with Nuno Silva (Principal Clarinetist of the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, and Professor of Clarinet at the National Superior Orchestra Academy of Lisbon) and piano with Artur Pizarro and Paulo Oliveira of the same academy. He studies composition with Davide Ianni of NEC. Alexander has been a member of the Boston Youth Symphony under Federico Cortese since the fall of 2018 and also plays with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and, occasionally, the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. He has twice placed as a finalist in the Silverstein Global Clarinet Competition (becoming a Silverstein Next Generation Artist and winning a Shining Talent award) and placed third at the 2021 Verão Clássico Festival and Academy in Lisbon, before winning the BYS Concerto Competition. He has participated in many masterclasses in both the United States and Europe. Besides his musical activities, Alexander is also an accomplished chess player, who traveled the world extensively, and who speaks multiple languages. 

Abigail Shin is a sophomore at Newton South High School in Newton, MA.  She has been a member of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO) since 2019. This is her first year in REP, where she is currently a concertmaster. Prior to BYSO, she was a member of the New England Conservatory (NEC) Prep Orchestras.  Abby began her music career playing piano at age 4, studying with Yu Ya Huang, and switched to the violin at age 10. She is currently a student of Kyoko Horowitz, a member of the violin faculty at NEC and founder of the Boston Music Institute (BMI). Abby’s former instructors include Yeolim Nam, Yuna Kim, and Emil Altschuler. She has also participated in the 2020 MMEA All-State Music Festival Orchestra, 2020 MMEA Eastern Senior Festival Orchestra, 2018 and 2019 MMEA Eastern Junior Festival Orchestras, and performed for her local church services and school showcases.  In addition to playing violin, Abby loves competing on her high school debate team and has debated in a range of tournaments in the local to national circuit.

Eileen Ho is a 9th grade student at Lexington High School. She has played the violin since the age of four, and is currently studying under Marla Rubinson at the Lexington Music School at the Munroe Center for the Arts. She joined BYSO in 2017 and has enjoyed playing and performing over the years.  Eileen also plays chamber music at the Lexington Chamber Music Center, and regularly performs in outreach concerts for local retirement homes and nursing facilities. Outside of music, Eileen is passionate about art and science. This year, she competed in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards to earn multiple gold keys and the Best of Category Award for Massachusetts. In 2021, she represented Lexington’s Diamond Middle School in the Massachusetts State Science Olympiad Competition, and went on to compete at the National Science Olympiad Tournament.