47th Annual Young Artist Concerto Competition Winners Concert with the Yonkers Philharmonic

We’re celebrating the winners of the 47^th Young Artists Concerto Competition at the Yonkers Philharmonic Free Concert on May 9, 2026 at 3:00.

First Prize Winner, Ben Puts, from Yonkers will perform the first movement of Lalo’s cello concerto, which reflects Lalo's Spanish-inflected Romanticism — restless, colorful, never predictable. The writing is idiomatic and demanding, showcasing the instrument's full expressive range from deep, resonant lows to singing upper register passages.

Second Prize Winner, Taira Matsumoto from Pleasantville introduces the saxophone as a solo concert instrument with Glazunov’s Concerto for Sax. Cast in a single continuous movement, the opening theme, lyric and aristocratic, displays the alto saxophone's uncanny ability to sing like the human voice.

Third Prize winner, Yuto Lim from Harrison completes the celebration of our Westchester high school students with the 1^st movement from one of the most beloved violin concertos ever written, Mendelssohn's E minor Concerto.

The Yonkers Phil will open the concert with Strauss Fruhlingstimme (Voices of Spring) This sparkling concert waltz distills everything that made Strauss the undisputed King of the Waltz. Tchaikovsky’s stirring March Slav will open the second half of the program.It unfolds from a solemn, folk-tinged opening to a triumphant conclusion incorporating the Russian Imperial anthem.

It will be a wonderful afternoon celebrating three talented Westchester high school students. Come and bring your family and friends.