James Deitz Memorial Young Artist Competition

2026 Winner: Julie Chen, Cello

Concerto for Violoncello & Orchestra, op. 22, mvt 1 – Samuel Barber (c. 1945)

Julie Chen, age 15, was a sophomore at Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School. She began cello at age 8 and currently studies with Gloria dePasquale, Clancy Newman, and Dominique de Williencourt. She previously studied with Hai-Ye Ni, the principal cellist of The Philadelphia Orchestra. She has attended Meadowmount for three years in Prof. Hans Jensen’s studio. She also studies piano with Natalie Zhu. She has played in master classes with cellists Wei Liu Denton, Marcy Rosen, and the Dover Quartet.

Julie attends the Advanced Study Ensemble program at Settlement Music School on full scholarship and is the principal cellist in the Youth Chamber Orchestra at Temple Music Prep. She was the principal cellist of both the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra (PYAO) from 2023-2024 and Prysm Strings of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra from 2021-2023.

Julie won the concerto competitions of Delaware County Symphony Orchestra (2026), Main Line Symphony Orchestra (2025), Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra (2024), and Old York Road Symphony Orchestra (2024). She performed with the Lansdowne Symphony Orchestra and Old York Road Symphony Orchestra in the spring of 2025. She also won the Pennsylvania Music Teachers’ Association competition (2024).

At the Tri-County Music Festival competition, she won first place in both the junior strings division (2023) and senior ensemble division (2024) and performed in the winners’ concert both years. Additionally, Julie won first place in American Protégé concerto competition with the Judges Distinction Award (2023), and first place in the 11-13 division and overall runner-up in the Philadelphia International Music Festival’s summer concerto competition (2022), which earned her a spot in the Winners Circle Concert in March 2023 with the Philadelphia Orchestra members.

Her other interests include drawing, dancing, singing, playing the piano, and swimming. She is in the gifted program at her school.

Past Winners

2025

Kai Freeman, Violin · Sibelius' Violin Concerto, Op. 47

Kai Freeman, from Haddonfield, NJ, was the Associate Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and performed in the Braverman String Quartet as a scholarship recipient in the Settlement Music School’s Advanced Study Program.

As the winner of their Young Artists Competitions, Kai has appeared as soloist with Ambler Symphony, Delaware County Symphony, Old York Road Symphony, Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, Rowan University’s String Ensemble and Warminster Symphony.

In the past summers, Kai participated in the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra in Switzerland, Carnegie Hall’s NYO2 program, Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, Heifetz Program for Exceptionally Gifted, the Mann Center’s All City Orchestra Summer Academy, Point Counterpoint, the Philadelphia International Music Festival, and the inaugural Suzuki Conventions of the Americas in Cancun, Mexico.

In 2023, Kai was named the inaugural Peter Benoliel and Willo Carey Springboard Grant Winner by the Bruce Montgomery Foundation for the Arts. In the past seasons Kai has won first prizes in the Junior division of New Jersey Music Teachers Association’s Young Musicians Competition and Triumph Music Festival’s Concerto Competition.

Kai began playing the violin at the age of four under Gerry Rice and currently studies with Amy Oshiro-Morales of The Philadelphia Orchestra. He has also studied with J. Freivogel of the Jasper String Quartet and Francesca de Pasquale. Aside from playing the violin, Kai plays trumpet, and enjoys reading and watching movies.

2024

Kwanyun Loo, Cello · Tchaikovsky's Pezzo Capriccioso in B minor

Kwanyun was a student at Rosa International Middle School and began cello lessons when he was 4. He was a student of Amy Barston. His cello teachers would include Alex Veltman, Clancy Newman, and Gloria dePasquale. He was a member of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra and Settlement’s Trowbridge Advanced Study Quartet. He studied with Andrew Mark at the Heifetz Institute in the summers of 2022 and 2023 and performed in masterclasses with Sheku Kanneh-Mason, David Geber, and Raman Ramakrishnan. He enjoys chess, tennis, and basketball with family and friends and has been a proud member of the PMAY Artists’ Initiative since 2021.

2023

Mio Imai, Violin · Mozart's Violin Concerto, No. 3 in G, Mvt 1

Mia made her solo violinist debut with the New York Session Symphony at the age of nine, performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor. She made subsequent appearances with the Rowan String Ensemble of Rowan University, the Temple University Youth Chamber Orchestra, the Old York Road Symphony, and the Ambler Symphony. Mio plays with the Center for Gifted Young Musicians program at Temple University and studies with Kimberly Fisher, principal second violinist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

2022

Miro Raj, Violin ·

Audrey Kim, Violin ·

2020

Vibha Janakiraman, Violin · Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2, in D Minor, Op.22, Mvt 3

2019

Sabine Jung, Cello · Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, Mvt. 1

Sabine was a junior at Unionville High School, and studied with Priscilla Lee of Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra. Sabine served as associate principal cellist in the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, and was selected as principal cellist in the National Youth Orchestra 2 in the 2015-16 season.

Angelina Phillips, Violin · Saint-Saens' Havanese, Op. 104, Mvt. 1

Angelina studied with Kimberly Fisher, Principal Second Violinist of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Angelina has won a number of awards in regional contests, served as Co-Concertmaster of the Delaware County Youth Orchestra, played in the first violin section of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, and in the Settlement Music School’s Trowbridge String Quartet. Her interests also include Bluegrass fiddling and playing the piano.

2018

Sasha He, Cello · Finale of Elgar Cello Concerto

As a junior at Radnor High School, Sasha was the first Deitz competition winner.

Email info@mlso.org for information on next season's competition.

Julie Chen, Cello