Aleksey Brown started playing piano less than a year ago when he was five years old. Alek goes to kindergarten and loves to dance, play with his friends, swim and jump on the trampoline. Alek is also quite talented in arts - he draws really well. Alison Strunk, 18 years of age, is a homeschooled senior. At 6 years old, she started piano lessons. The following year she enrolled in violin lessons. While Alison serves as first chair for the Panama City Youth Orchestra, she also debuted with the Panama City Symphony Orchestra this year. Azalea Kelley, 19, from New York, has been studying with Dr. Hui- Ting Yang at Troy University, Alabama. She won First Prize (Overall) in the Birmingham Music Club Competition, the Texas International Chopin Competition, and the International Young Artist Piano Competition, and top prize in the 20th New York Music Competition. Becca Harrison plays the piano. At the age of 14, she received the Vero Beach Opera Piano Scholarship, allowing her to study with Dr. Marcos Flores for four years. She is currently pursuing a B.M. in music performance at Florida State University, studying with Dr. David Kalhous. Timothy Berry is in his senior year at the University of Alabama, studying under Dr. Kevin Chance. Timothy has won awards in numerous competitions including Music Teachers National Association and the Huxford Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. In addition to solo performance, he also enjoys collaboration, teaching piano, and studying musicology. Carson Campbell is a rising junior at Mercer University, majoring in Piano Performance under Ian Altman’s instruction. He is originally from Decatur, Alabama. Carson studied piano in high school with Margery McDuffie Whatley at Birmingham Southern College. Carson’s future plans are to perform and teach at the collegiate level. Catherine Hinson lives in Birmingham, Alabama and attends the Indian Springs School. At the age of six, Catherine began taking violin lessons, and a year later started learning how to play piano. Catherine has continued to play both instruments and is also a member of the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra. Described as able to “inhabit” music by noted American composer Libby Larsen, Chase Romans is an active saxophonist who is a native to Biloxi, Mississippi. Chase has received lessons and masterclasses from noted saxophonist such as Lawrence Gwozdz, Dannel Espinoza, Otis Murphy, and the Ráscher Saxophone Quartet. Chase Romans has performed in cities across the United States and in Germany and Japan. Cole Mogharrebi began playing the violin at the age of nine and immediately fell in love with the instrument. His favorite music is the Baroque Period and he especially enjoys playing pieces by J. S. Bach. He is a member of the Louisiana Youth Orchestra and is currently the Concertmaster. Cole hopes to pursue a double major in music and mathematics at the college level. Daniel Bae, 12 years old. He started piano when he was 9 from his mother. He quickly overcame the difficulties of the piano. He currently studies with Haein Kim. He has won many awards in piano competitions. He likes matching cubes and computer games. Also he belongs to The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth(CTY) at an advanced level. Raymond Hou, 16, a junior in LAMP in Montgomery, Alabama, studies piano with Ronald Shinn. He won 9 international and 18 first-place awards in piano competitions. Raymond also studies violin with Sven Stucke. He was the first-place winner of Alabama MTNA violin competition and the concertmaster of Montgomery Youth Orchestra. Hunter Wittenborn is a junior at Daphne High School. He started playing piano the summer of his seventh grade year, studying under Lacey Schrand, followed by Evelyn Schrand. He currently studies under Steinway Artist Robert Holm, while also performing in other activities such as tuba in his high school's band. Richard Chen, age 14, is attending Baldwin Middle Magnet School as an 8th grader in Montgomery, Alabama. The piano has been a core subject of his life since he was a toddler, barely being able to reach the keys. He also incorporates cross country, tennis, and guitar into his subjects of interest. Sophia C. Haines is a 15 years old nationally / internationally recognized wildlife conservationist photographer. Recently she was awarded at the Steve Irvin, Australia Zoo Photography Exhibit. She started piano at age 10 and since then music has been an integral part of her life. She took part and received awards in many music competitions. Timofei Kunin studies at the Southeastern Louisiana University, and has been interested in exploring different genres of music for more than 14 years. All of the experience, practice, and contribution of wonderful teachers has contributed to his winning various international competitions. Yolanda Ni is a violinist from Mississippi. She currently studies with Jan Sloman and has received top prizes in competitions such as the GCSS Concerto Competition from 2019-2022 and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) in Mississippi in 2018 and 2021. She has also participated in various international festivals such as HeifetzPEG (2019) and Semper Music (2017).