Each year since the Yamaha Young Performing Artist program began in 1988, the Band and Orchestral Division of Yamaha Corporation of America has honored emerging 18- to 21-year-old artists. The annual YYPA program, conducted in conjunction with Yamaha Artist Services Indianapolis, selected nine winners in the 2016 competition. Among this year’s talented winners is flutist Hyerin Kim of Cherry Hill.
Kim is currently in her second year of studies at Temple University, Boyer College of Music and Dance in Philadelphia and has held the position of flute section leader for the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra for two years. She moved to the United States in the ninth grade, and studied with many top flute players, including Philadelphia Orchestra principle flutist Jeffrey Khaner and Kutztown University assistant professor Susanna Lowey. Kim has participated in many competitions and received multiple awards, both in Korea and the United States, including the grand prize and Superintendent Award from the Korean National Competition and, in 2016, a World Stride Heritage Performance Maestro Best Solo Award.
“The YYPA program is a significant opportunity for young musicians who are embarking on a career as a professional musician, and one of the most visible ways that Yamaha offers unrivaled support for music education,” said John Wittmann, director of education and artist relations, YCA. “We are pleased to honor Hyerin at this early phase of her development as an artist.”
Winners receive an all-expense-paid trip to the YYPA Celebration Weekend from June 25 to Jun 28, which will take place during the Music for All Summer Symposium, to be held at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. from June 25 through July 2. There, the winners will attend workshops and clinics designed to help them launch a professional career, garner global media exposure via the Internet, and they will perform in front of thousands with world-renowned trumpet soloist and Yamaha performing artist Rex Richardson. The concert will be memorialized with a professional recording and photography, and winners will enjoy many other privileges, including services and support from Yamaha Artist Relations.
The 2016 YYPA winners join a pantheon of more than 200 talented musicians who have been previously recognized, including Ricardo Morales, principal clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra; Alex Han, saxophonist with Marcus Miller; Otis Murphy, professor, Indiana University; Conrad Jones, principal trumpeter with the Indianapolis Symphony; and Aaron Parks, jazz pianist and Blue Note recording artist.
