2024 Highlights
PMAY Artists’ Initiative
PMAY Artists appeared and performed on Fox 29 morning news
PMAY Group photo with alumnus Na’Zir McFadden after a conducting workshop where students performed and conducted the ensemble
PMAY Artists returned to the Woodmere Art Museum for a recital
PMAY Alumna Gabriela during her summer tour with NYO at Carnegie Hall
PMAY Percussionists Sydney and Kenny performed in a masterclass with Josh Jones. This event was made possible by a partnership with Play on Philly, PMAY and PCMS
PMAY Artists performed on the Annual Showcase Concert in February
PMAY Alumnus Kwanyun was featured on 6abc upon his acceptance to the Curtis Institute of Music at 13 years young
PMAY Graduates Class of 2024
Our PMAY Woodwind players performed in a masterclass with Anthony McGill
PMAY Artists with Katie Lansdale at Boston Conservatory, during the school visit to Boston in October
PMAY Program Director Najib Wong took a selfie with the 2024-2025 family cohort during our program orientation in September
PMAY Artists out and about in Boston, getting familiar with the city, taking public transportation and visiting schools
PMAY Seniors Miro and Julio enjoy donuts after their mock auditions in the November, in preparation of their college audition in the spring
PMAY Artist Kenny participated in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute
PMAY Artists Sydney, Danae, Mandy and Paulette hanging out post-graduation concert, enjoying each other’s company and the delicious food
PMAY Artists Julio, Gabi (Alumna) and Miro at the Bruce Montgomery Foundation. Julio and Miro were selected as the award recipients for 2024 and Gabi has been a recipient in 2022
2023 Highlights
PMAY Artists’ Initiative
PMAY Artists Initiative 2023-2024
PMAY Artists (from left to right), Ora Avila, Isabella Munoz, Paulette Alvarez Dela Cadena, Sydney Vance and Danae Truxler at the end of the semester party
PMAY Artists Emily Samuel, Isabelle Mingo, and Madelyn Mingo participated in the Center for Gifted Young Musicians at Temple Music Prep's 2023 Iceland cultural exchange in mid-June
PMAY Artist, Aram Karpeh at his first professional gig where he performed with 22 other double bassists at the Awbury Arboretum
Four PMAY Artists participated in a masterclass with Nick Stovall, principal oboe of the National Symphony Orchestra
PMAY Artists participated in the Pathways Festival Orchestra in Cincinnati, Ohio
Violinist Gabriela Salvador- Riera placed 2nd in the Junior division of the 2023 Sphinx Competition
Four PMAY Artists participated in a masterclass with Juliette Kang, Associate Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
PMAY Artists and families visiting Curtis Institute of Music
PMAY November Recital Performers
PMAY Seniors Mandy Jiang and Aram Karpeh visited Montclair State and Penn State. They took part in classes, campus tour and an info-session with staff and students. They also had individual instrument lessons
PMAY Artists enjoying a nice dinner after their visit at the Curtis Institute of Music
PMAY Artists attended the Kinhaven Music Camp in Vermont
PMAY Artists performed in our September recital
PMAY Artists Gabriela, Adam, Lucas and Julio sight-reading holiday carols during the end of the semester PMAY Party
PMAY Showcase Recital in February. 2023
PMAY Artist Kiran Anderson performed in a master class with Orion Quartet violist Steven Tenenbom on the Center for Gifted Young Musicians Master Class Series
PMAY Alumnus Dillon Scott placed 3rd in the senior division of the 2023 Sphinx Competition
PMAY Artists and families visiting Manhattan School of Music
Cellist Kwanyun Loo won the James Deitz Memorial Young Artist Competition
Violinist Gabriela Salvador-Riera featured on From the Top
PMAY Artists visiting Peabody Institute and catching up with PMAY Alumna, Anagha Kapsi
PMAY Artists and their families at the graduation recital in May, 2023. So proud of all of them! Go class of ’23
PMAY Artists at a coffee shop taking a break from exploring Cincinnati
PMAY Artist Danae Truxler for being a recipient of a violin via the Black Violin’s Dreamer Instrument Access program from The Baroque Violin shop- Central Ohio. She was on her way to participate in Credo at Oberlin Conservatory of Music
2022 Highlights
5th year anniversary celebration
Eight PMAY Artists were chosen to participate in the Chicago Youth in Music Festival under the direction of Riccardo Muti.
Alumnus Na’Zir McFadden was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Kwanchi Loo was a finalist for the President’s Own Concerto Competition
PMAY Families Visiting Peabody Conservatory
Violinists Miro won the Mainline Symphony Concrto Competition
Anagha Kapsi was one of eight chosen to work with Violinist Min Young Kim by the American Composers Forum
Lucas Lauprasert was a winner of the 2022 Ambler Symphony Menges Scholarship Competition.
2021 Highlights
PMAY Artists’initiative
PMAY Artists’ Initiative Graduation Recital
We are so proud of our 2021 graduates. Hear their stories and their performances in the video above.
PMAY Artists’ Initiative Showcase Recital
An annual showcase of our wonderful young musicians.
Congratulations to all our competition and audition winners.
(Starting top left)
Anagha Kapsi, violin - 1st place, Kutztown University Concerto Competition
Aviva Bock, violin - 1st place, School District of Philadelphia Concerto Competition
Blue Shelton, flute - Principal, New York Youth Symphony
Chloe Hyun, violin - Co-winner, Ambler Symphony Menges Scholarship
Dillon Scott, viola - 3rd place, Sphinx Competition
Gabriela Salvador-Riera, violin - Co-winner, Newark Symphony Orchestra Betsy Kent Concerto Competition & 1st runner-up, Delaware Concerto Competition
Miro Raj, violin - Co-winner, Main Line Symphony Concerto Competition
Na’Zir McFadden, clarinet - Navy Fleet Band
Kwanyun Loo, cello - Co-winner Ambler Symphony Menges Scholarship
PMAY Alum Nicolette Sullivan-Cozza was featured on From the Top. Nicolette is attending the New England Conservatory of Music. Click this link for the podcast.
PMAY Alum Marquise Lindsey-Bradley moderated a discussion with Pathway Program Alumni. Marquise is attending the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Musicopia
This year, two PMAY Artists received high-quality donated instruments made possible by the generosity of the Loder family, and facilitated by our partner organization Musicopia and its Gift of Music Instrument Donation program. In memory of their late mother Doris Ann Loder and her passion for music, the Loder family donated Doris’s violin and viola to Patricia Harden, a rising junior in high school, and Justin Williams, who will be attending the Peabody Institute of Music this Fall. Doris Ann Loder taught strings in the School District of Philadelphia and played in the Delaware Symphony Orchestra for 30 years. The instrument hand-offs took place at Settlement Music School, where both students and donors took music lessons.
Project 440
Project 440 Founder and Philadelphia Orchestra Associate Principal Double Bass Joseph Conyers provides the keynote for the 2021 Building Bridges Symposium
PYO Music Institute
In May and June, students celebrated the end of the season with live-recorded performances in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center.
In February, after nearly a year of virtual learning, students returned to in-person rehearsals at our newly expanded and renovated home at St. Patrick Hall.
We celebrated our 47 graduating seniors over the summer, 33% of which are now attending Ivy League schools and 31% of whom are majoring in music
In September, we presented our first-ever Digital Showcase Concert on our YouTube channel featuring every program division. We also welcomed our students back in-person to the PYO Music Institute.
2020 Highlights
PMAY Artists’ Initiative
We are proud of our students for continuing to persevere with their artistry and commitment to improvement and excellence in a very challenging year. Here are some student highlights from the past year.
Visit our YouTube Channel to view our Graduation, Showcase and other Recitals.
From the Top episode 392 featured PMAY Violinist Anagha Kapsi and Flutist Blue Shelton. Additionally, PMAY Alums Vibha Janakiraman, Braden and Peirce Ellis were featured in other episodes.
Gabriela Salvador Riera, student of Julianne Murphy Ruiz, placed 2nd place in the Estella Hillersohn Frankel Violin Scholarship.
Nicolette Sullivan-Cozza, student of Kerri Ryan, was the runner-up in the 2020 Delaware Concerto Competition for Young Musicians (16-18 Category).
Adelle Sullivan-Cozza, student of Lee Snyder, was the winner of the 2020 Delaware Concerto Competition for Young Musicians (12 and Under Category).
Sphinxconnect 2020 feature Philadelphia Orchestra Associate Principal Bass Joseph Conyers for the Closing Plenary and PMAY Alum Marquise Bradley on a panel discussion.
Musicopia
Highlights from the 2020 year.
Members of the Musicopia String Orchestra, including our PMAY students, had the opportunity to participate in a live Q&A session with Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus of Black Violin (pictured here with Executive Director Catherine Charlton) at Musicopia and Dancing Classrooms Philly’s 2020 (virtual) High Note High Step Fundraising Event.
The Musicopia String Orchestra is proud to have 9 PMAY Artists this year; the 3 pictured here participate in the MSO Octet. The octet was able to have a few in-person (and socially distanced!) rehearsals in the fall before restrictions were put back in place. They continue to meet virtually now.
On Thursday, December 3, Musicopia hosted a live, online, free educational workshop that explored cross-over genre music with amazing panelists, including a Grammy-winning flautist and a violist from the Dalí Quartet. PMAY students were invited to attend. Watch here: https://youtu.be/qUH1ol7r8R4.
PYO Music Institute
Check out PYO Music' Institute’s Holiday Postcard Series featuring their various ensembles.
The Primavera Fund
The Primavera Fund would like to highlight our Online Masterclass Series from 2020. In response to the pandemic we had to make some changes to our usual PMAY masterclass programming, which proved a challenge but also opened up some great possibilities. We asked our clinicians to create a short video on any musical topic of their choosing from the technical to the profound. After a public viewing of the video, we opened a discussion between the clinician and any Primavera or PMAY music student. The result was some wonderful connections for our students and some really thought provoking discussions for everyone.
Masterclass with David Jackson
Masterclass with Demarre McGill
PMAY Artists visits The Cleveland Institute of Music
The PMAY Artists’ Initiative collaborated with the Cleveland Institute of Music to design a comprehensive and welcoming college visit for PMAY families. Over 2 days, we connected with staff, faculty and students for lessons, masterclasses, tours, classes, concerts and info-sessions. It left a lasting impression on our families and we are extremely appreciative of our time there. We were proud to be guided by current student and PMAY Alum, Marquise Bradley (Clarinet, 19).
“This was such a great experience we didn't expect to walk away with so much knowledge on the college selection process.We learned to create a resume to highlight the experiences that are important for specific opportunities, be prepared with questions for the teacher as well as the school, the best way to go about scheduling auditions and preparing for the auditions by learning about the school and the teacher you are taking the trial lesson with ahead of time.” - Parent
Click to see more photos
2019 PMAY Artists’ Initiative Graduates
Left to Right: Adam Brotnitsky, Claire Casanova, David Ortiz, Gregory Padilla, Malinda Voell, Marquise Bradley, Sophia Radford
Absent: Chloe Cooper, Gustavo Menezes
Adam Brotnitsky
participant in
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, School District of Philadelphia All City Orchestra, Settlement Music School, The Philadelphia Orchestra All City Fellowship, The Primavera Fund, Temple University Music Prep
Adam will be attending Temple University
Claire Casanova
participant in
Philadelphia Sinfonia, Project 440, School District of Philadelphia All City Orchestra, Temple Music Prep
Claire will be attending Temple University
David Ortiz
participant in
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Project 440 Youth Advisory Council, School District of Philadelphia All City Orchestra, Settlement Music School, The Philadelphia Orchestra All City Fellowship
David will be attending Boston University
Greg Padilla
participant in
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Primavera Fund, School District of Philadelphia All City Orchestra,
Temple University Music Prep, The Philadelphia Orchestra All City Fellowship
Greg will be attending the New England Conservatory of Music
Malinda Voell
participant in
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Project 440, School District of Philadelphia All City Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra All City Fellowship, The Primavera Fund
Malinda will be attending Temple
Marquise Bradley
participant in
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Project 440 Youth Advisory Council, School District of Philadelphia All City Orchestra, Settlement Music School, Temple Music Prep, The Philadelphia Orchestra All City Fellowship, The Primavera Fund
Marquise will be attending the Cleveland Institute of Music
Sophia Radford
participant in
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Play On, Philly!
Sophia will be attending Temple
Absent
Chloe Cooper
participant in
School District of Philadelphia All City Orchestra, Settlement Music School, Temple University Music Prep
Chloe will be attending University of Tampa
Gustavo Menezes
participant in
Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, School District of Philadelphia All City Orchestra, The Primavera Fund
Gustavo will be attending the Community College of Philadelphia
PMAY Artist Gabriel Gaw wins first prize at the 2019 Fredonia Double Bass Competition and 2nd Prize at the 2019 ENKOR International Music Competition
2019 PMAY Artists’ Initiative Annual Showcase Recital Perfomers
Left to right: Gabriel Gaw (Double Bass, 11th grade), Alex Phipps (Clarinet, 11th grade), Miro Raj (Violin, 6th grade), Helena Munoz (Violin, 10th grade), Kintan Silvany (Harp, 10th grade), Braden Ellis (Double Bass, 11th grade), Myles Bell (Violin, 10th grade), Blue Shelton (Flute, 10th grade), Christian Kercy (11th grade).
Click here for repertoire and video
The PMAY families who support our Artists on this journey.
2018-19 School District of Philadelphia
All City Orchestra and Band
Orchestra
Adam Brotnitsky - Co-Principal Viola (String Theory High School)
Adam Douglas - Violin (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Andre Robinson - Trombone (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Blue Shelton - Flute (Central High School)
Calistha Gunawan - Violin (Central High School)
Charissa Yang - Violin (Central High School)
Chloe Cooper - Flute (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Claire Casanova - Clarinet (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
David Ortiz - Principal Trumpet (Central High School)
Gevon Goddard - Cello (Franklin Learning Center)
Greg Padilla - Principal Bass (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Gustavo Menezes - Cello (Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush High School)
Justin Williams - Co-Principal Viola (String Theory High School)
Louis Dong - Violin (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Keziah Miller - Bass (Masterman Julia R Secondary School)
Malinda Voell - Principal Flute (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Marquise Lindsey-Bradley - Principal Clarinet (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Nayyirah Wood - Viola (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Nia Peterson - Violin (Masterman Julia R Secondary School)
Semaj Murphy - Concertmaster/Violin (Girard Academic Music Program)
Shalyn Faison - Principal Trombone (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Tegan Howe - Cello (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Yohanna Heyer - Cello (Masterman Julia R Secondary School)
Band
Andre Robinson - Trombone (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Blue Shelton - Flute (Central High School)
Chloe Cooper - Flute (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Claire Casanova - Clarinet (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
David Ortiz - Principal Trumpet (Central High School)
Malinda Voell - Principal Flute (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Marquise Lindsey-Bradley - Principal Clarinet (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
Shalyn Faison - Principal Trombone (High School for the Creative and Performing Arts)
All events free and open to the public
Project 440 Workshop
Nov 19, 2018
The Primavera Fund Sterling Masterclass Series
Nov 18, 2018
Project 440 Music College Fair
Nov 12, 2018
The Primavera Fund Sterling Masterclass Series
Oct 25, 2018
Project 440 College Prep Family Workshop
Oct 17, 2018
Graduating Seniors
Jun 10, 2018
From left to right: Agnes Williams, Derrick Pondexter, John Polanco, David Hiester, Akili Farrow, Indrojit Chatterjee and Malique Bennett. Absent: Jasyn Brazoban and Na'Zir McFadden.
The PMAY Artists' Initiative is proud of our inaugural class of graduating seniors. All our seniors will be pursuing music at the collegiate level.
Malique Bennett (2, 4, 8, 10)
Trombone – Carnegie Mellon University
Jasyn Brazoban (3, 8, 10)
Trombone – University of the Arts
Indrojit Chatterjee (3)
Percussion – William Patterson University
Akili Farrow (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10)
Violin – Royal College of Music, London
David Hiester (2, 4, 8, 9, 10)
Bassoon – University of Texas, Austin
Na’Zir McFadden (3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10)
Clarinet – Depaul University
John Polanco (2, 3, 8, 10)
Trumpet – University of the Arts
Derrick Pondexter (2, 4, 8, 10)
Violin – Temple University
Agnes Williams (4, 8, 10)
Trombone – Temple University
(1) Musicopia
(2) The Philadelphia Orchestra All-City Fellowship
(3) Philadelphia Sinfonia
(4) Philadelphia Youth Orchestra
(5) Play On, Philly!
(6) The Primavera Fund
(7) Project 440 (provides workshops to all in college readiness and entrepreneurship)
(8) School District of Philadelphia All-City Orchestras
(9) Settlement Music School
(10) Temple University Music Prep
PMAY artists with Katie Lansdale, Professor at the Boston Conservaroty at Berklee during the program visit to Boston in October 2024