2026 Young Artist Scholarship Competition Winners
Congratulations to these outstanding students and their teachers!
The Winners Concert was held at 4pm Saturday, April 25, 2026 in the Art Gallery at Hennepin United Methodist Church.
| Competition Category | Award | Student | Teacher |
| College Intermediate Voice | 1st place | Ethan Elsbernd | Rachel Joselson |
| 2nd place | William Jacobson | Anne Nash | |
| Honorable Mention | Emilia Jurzyk | Leanne Freeman-Miller | |
| College Strings | 1st place | Grace Abt | Brittany Quinn |
| Honorable Mention | Dante Carlson | Silver Ainomäe | |
| College Piano | 1st place | Gideon Scheeler | Alexander Braginsky |
| 2nd place | Benjamin Keating | Catherine Kautsky | |
| Honorable Mention | Qiaochuhan Li | Anthony Padilla | |
| College Musical Theater | 1st place | Gideon Scheeler | Alexander Braginsky |
| 2nd place | Benjamin Keating | Catherine Kautsky | |
| Honorable Mention | Qiaochuhan Li | Anthony Padilla | |
| College Winds, Brass, & Percussion | 1st place | Gideon Scheeler | Alexander Braginsky |
| 2nd place | Benjamin Keating | Catherine Kautsky | |
| Honorable Mention | Qiaochuhan Li | Anthony Padilla | |
| High School Voice | 1st place | Alice Trachta | Alyssa Becker |
| 2nd place | Eleanor Iversen | Robin Griffeath | |
| Honorable Mention | Eveny McNutty | Teresa Tierney | |
| High School Musical Theater | 1st place | Adelina Mukhametzhanova | Melyssa Rice |
| 2nd place | Ruby Paulson | Jennifer LeDoux | |
| Honorable Mention | Layla Bagel | Teresa Tierney | |
| High School Strings | 1st place | Jane Story | Anna Cromwell |
| 2nd place | Noah Scharback | David Holmes | |
| Honorable Mention | Anahit Bashir | David Holmes | |
| High School Piano | 1st place tie | Gaia Daniel | Paul Wirth |
| 1st place tie | Noah Greenstein-Sheppard | Paul Wirth | |
| 2nd place | Alex Rodriguez | Paul Wirth | |
| Honorable Mention | William Feng | Richard Tostenson | |
| High School Winds, Brass, & Percussion | 1st place | Donovan Mann | Benjamin Bussey |
| 2nd place | Dilan Gilbertson | Emily Brewer | |
| Honorable Mention | Max Berkholz | Will Kemperman | |
| Middle School Piano | 1st place | Cecilia Taggart | Paul Wirth |
| 2nd place | Emma Lu | Alexander Braginsky | |
| Honorable Mention tie | Jeffrey Hao | Jessica Hong | |
| Honorable Mention tie | Tucker Kase | Paul Wirth | |
| Middle School Musical Theater | 1st place | Gideon Scheeler | Alexander Braginsky |
| 2nd place | Benjamin Keating | Catherine Kautsky | |
| Honorable Mention | Qiaochuhan Li | Anthony Padilla | |
| Middle School Strings | 2nd place | Jorgen Anthony | David Holmes |
| Honorable Mention | Brigham Dangerfield | Aaron Janse | |
| JUDGES | |
| Category | Judge |
| College Intermediate Voice | Laura Nichols |
| College Intermediate & High School Voice | Monica Murray |
| College Intermediate & High School Voice | Melissa Holm-Johansen |
| High School Voice | Jonathan Struve |
| Middle School Musical Theater | Momoko Tanno |
| Middle School, High School & College Musical Theater | Bobbi Miller |
| Middle School & High School Musical Theater | Kym Otto |
| College Musical Theater | Anna Hashizume |
| College, High School, & Middle School Strings | Rolf Hass |
| High School & College Strings | Kai-Li Cheng |
| High School & College Strings | Te-Chiang Liu |
| Middle School Strings | Will Richardson |
| Middle School Strings | Kathryn Christie |
| Middle School, High School, & College Piano | Miryana Motova |
| Middle School, High School, & College Piano | Christopher Atzinger |
| Middle School & College Piano | Yumiko Oshima-Ryan |
| High School Piano | Diana Shapiro |
| High School & College Woodwinds/Brass/Percussion | Kurt Claussen |
| High School & College Woodwinds/Brass/Percussion | Charles Preis |