The judges selected 10 winners and five honorable mention recipients.
An expert panel of Yamaha Performing Artists and national celebrity musicians selected winners from a pool of audio and video auditions based on the competitor’s skills and artistry on brass, winds, strings and percussion instruments, as well as piano.
The 2017 YYPA Winners include:
Victor Hernandez Ramirez – flute; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
He Zhang – clarinet; Harbin, China
Hannah Hickman – classical saxophone; Sheldon, Iowa
Howard Dietz – jazz saxophone; Morgan Hill, Calif.
Michelle Hembree – horn; Boise, Idaho
Altin Sencalar – jazz trombone; Temple, Texas
Cameron Leach – concert percussion; Hilliard, Ohio
Stephen Morris – drum set; Aliso Viejo, Calif.
Derek Louie – cello; New York, New York
Nathan Ben-Yehuda – piano; Los Angeles, Calif.
The 2017 Honorable Mentions:
Randy Fultz – bassoon; Rochester, New York
Kei Matsumaru – saxophone; Boston, Mass.
Dylan Rye – trumpet; Fairfax, Virginia
Tanner Jackson – trombone; Rochester, New York
Man-Ling Bai – piano; Fullerton, Calif.
All of the 2017 Yamaha Young Performing Artists
Winners will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the YYPA Celebration Weekend on June 24-27, which will take place during the Music for All™ Summer Symposium. There, the winners will perform in front of thousands and will receive a professional recording and photographs of their performances.
