2026 WYSO Concerto Competition Winners & Honorable Mentions
The WYSO Concerto Competitions for Youth and Philharmonia Orchestras are an annual spring tradition. This year, 40 hard-working and talented WYSO musicians in the Youth and Philharmonia orchestras competed in January, and the competition results are in!
Students that participated meticulously prepared approved concertos and performed before judges. Out of the pool of competitors, the judges announced a Winner and three Honorable Mentions for each orchestra competition.
The three Concerto Competition Winners, Indre Raghavan and Lorenz Fradkin-Annen (Youth Orchestra Competition) & Ayla Varney (Philharmonia Orchestra Competition), will perform (respectively) as soloists with the Youth and Philharmonia Orchestras in the Spring Concerts at the Hamel Music Center on May 16 and 17.
Meet the Competition Winners and the Honorable Mentions below, and mark the recital and concert dates on your calendars. You will not want to miss these spectacular upcoming events and the chance to support these special WYSO musicians!
Youth Orchestra Competition Winners
Indre Raghavan, VIOLIN
Indre began her violin studies at age seven with Janse Vincent and currently studies with Prof. Eugene Purdue. Indre has been a member of WYSO for nine years and has served as a Music Makers Teen Teacher for the past two years. She is the first-prize winner of the 2025 Madison Symphony Orchestra Bolz Final Forte Competition. She also won the 2025 Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra Young Artist Competition, the 2025 O’Malley Foundation National Concerto Competition (Early Music Division), and the 2025 Middleton Community Orchestra Concerto Competition, and was a finalist in the 2025 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Stars of Tomorrow Competition.
Indre spent the summers of 2023–2025 at the Meadowmount School of Music, studying with Prof. I-Hao Lee. She also attended Sounding Point Academy at the Colburn School in 2024 and 2025, as well as Kaufman Summerfest in 2025. She has performed in masterclasses with James Ehnes, Paul Kantor, Kathleen Winkler, David Halen, Danielle Belen, Blair Milton, Dawn Dongeun Wohn, Julian Rhee, the Aizuri Quartet, and others.
Outside of music, Indre serves as a class representative in the Middleton High School Student Senate, is president of both Next Chapter Academic Tutoring and the MHS UNICEF chapter, holds additional leadership roles in other school clubs, and currently serves on the youth advisory board for the RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center.
Lorenz Fradkin-Annen, VIOLIN
Lorenz Fradkin-Annen, 14, is a sophomore at Oregon High School in Oregon, Wisconsin, and studies violin with Eugene Purdue. In 2023, Renz made her solo debut with the Madison Symphony Orchestra after winning the Fall Youth Concerto Competition (now the Topitzes Family Fall Youth Concerto Competition). She also won the 2024 Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Philharmonia Concerto Competition, was a finalist in the 2023 Interlochen Intermediates Concerto Competition, and has earned multiple WSMA Exemplary Performance awards. She will be performing in the Final Forte in March 2026 with the Madison Symphony.
A member of WYSO since age nine, Renz has performed on violin, viola, and bassoon. She plays viola in the Pondrom Honors Piano Quartet and studies piano as well. She has appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Midday Classics, participated in numerous master classes, and performs with MadFiddle. In addition to playing music, she enjoys electronic music production, biotechnology, chemistry, and gaming with her siblings.
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA COMPETITION WINNER
Ayla Varney, VIOLIN
Ayla Varney has been taking violin lessons for seven years and piano lessons for nine years. She has been part of many student recitals, gone to several summer camps for violin and in 2025 she received the Exemplary Performance Recognition Award at the State Solo and Ensemble for both her violin and piano solos. Ayla joined the Concert Orchestra with WYSO in 2024 and is now in Philharmonia. Ayla also enjoys singing and is currently taking voice lessons. When she is not practicing her violin, piano or singing she loves riding her horse, taking care of her rabbits, sheep and farm animals. In the summer she works on her family’s organic vegetable farm, likes riding her bike and being outside. Ayla hopes to make it into the Youth Orchestra next year and wishes to grow as a musician by continuing her piano and violin studies.
YOUTH ORCHESTRA HONORABLE MENTION
Caroline Canney, VIOLIN
Caroline Canney is currently a senior at Oregon High School. She began playing violin at 5 years old with Shauncey Ali and currently studies with Eugene Purdue of UW-Madison. In addition to private lessons, Caroline has been a WYSO member for 7 years and has performed in her high school’s pit orchestra for the past 4 years. In 2024, she won the OHS concerto competition, and in 2025, she earned an Exemplary Performance award at the WSMA State Solo and Ensemble Festival.
At OHS, Caroline serves as the Vice President of Student Council and is a member of the National Honor Society and PRIDE Crew (a group of Senior student ambassadors).
After high school, Caroline plans to major in Music Performance and possibly another major related to arts administration.
YOUTH ORCHESTRA
HONORABLE MENTION
June Berquist, Clarinet
June Berquist is a senior at Oregon High School and has been playing the clarinet for over 7 years. Outside of participating in WYSO, she is a member of the Lalita Honors Woodwind Quintet and has played in the WSMA State Honors Band and Orchestra. She has also earned an Honorable Mention in the 2025 Bolz Young Artist Competition and was the winner of the Oregon High School Concerto Competition in 2025. June attended the Advanced Clarinet Intensive at Interlochen, where she performed in masterclasses for Michael Wayne, YaoGuang Zhai, and Jane Carl. She currently studies with JJ Koh and plans on pursuing a degree in music education next year.
Youth Orchestra HONORABLE MENTION
KYLE MCINTOSH, CELLO
Kyle McIntosh is a senior at Middleton High School. He began playing cello at age 6 and currently studies with Alex Chambers-Ozasky. Kyle has been in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) for 10 years and in the WYSO Pondrom Honors Quartet for 3 years. His recent accolades include winning the 2026 Middleton Community Orchestra (MCO) Young Artists Competition. In both 2026 and 2025, he earned Honorable Mentions at the WYSO Concerto Competition and the Middleton High School Concerto-Aria Competition. Additionally, he received Honorable Mention at the 2025 MCO Young Artists Competition. Kyle has been a member of the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) State Honors Orchestra, received the WSMA Exemplary Performance Recognition Award in 2022 and 2025, and performed a cello solo at the Exemplary Performance Recital during the 2022 WSMA Conference. He has also studied piano for 12 years and enjoys composing classical music. Next year, Kyle plans to major in microbiology and to continue music performance.
Youth Orchestra HONORABLE MENTION
VIVIAN FENG, PIANO
Vivian Feng is a junior at Middleton High School (MHS). She has been playing piano since age 4 and currently studies with Shu-Ching Chuang. Vivian is a winner of the 2026 MCO Young Artist Competition and has received Honorable Mentions at the Concerto Competitions for WYSO (2025), MCO (2025), and MHS (2024 and 2026). She was featured in the Junior Keynotes magazine for earning an NFMC Grand Cup. She also received a Solo and Ensemble 2024 Exemplary award for her piano solo. Furthermore, Vivian has won multiple awards from the Sonatina Festival and the WMTA Piano Competitions. On top of these awards, Vivian loves giving back to her community by performing recitals for retirement home citizens.
Vivian also studies violin with Cynthia Bittar. She has been a WYSO member since she was 8 years old, and is in the Pondrom Honors Piano Quartet. Vivian played in the WSMA Honors Orchestra in 2024 and 2025.
In addition to music, Vivian enjoys competing in FBLA; in 2025, she was declared the National Champion in Parliamentary Procedure with her teammates.
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA HONORABLE MENTION
Polly Fowler, Trumpet
Polly Fowler is a classically trained trumpet player, pianist, and singer from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. She began studying trumpet through the Suzuki Method for Brass just before turning four years old and has been taking private lessons for seven years. Polly studies with David Krauss, Principal Trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera and trumpet instructor at Juilliard Pre-College.
In 2024 and 2025, Polly attended the Intermountain Suzuki Strings Institute in Salt Lake City, where she was selected to perform in the Honors Recital in 2024.
A dedicated musician beyond the trumpet, Polly has studied piano since age three with Jerilyn Paolini of East Tennessee State University and takes voice lessons with Mary Hofer at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point.
Polly enjoys running and completed the Girls on the Run program in 2024 and 2025, along with her first season of Cross country. She is a fifth-grade student at Pacelli Catholic Middle School.
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA HONORABLE MENTION
Hayley Stevens, VIOLIN
Hayley Stevens is a seventh grader at Ezekiel Gillespie Middle School in Madison. She began studying violin at age three with Kathryn Taylor at Suzuki Strings of Madison and is currently a student of Eugene Purdue. In addition to the Philharmonia Orchestra of WYSO, she also performs with Sonora Strings, the advanced touring ensemble of Suzuki Strings of Madison.
She has received numerous honors for violin performance, including winning the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Topitzes Family Fall Youth Concerto Competition (2025), the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Bach Double Competition (2023 and 2025), the Interlochen Arts Camp Junior Honors Recital Competition (2024), and the elementary division of the Black Youth Arts Matter Festival Competition (2023). In her spare time, Hayley also enjoys the cello, guitar, and musical theatre.
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA HONORABLE MENTION
Lydia Elwert, VIOLIN
Lydia Elwert (age 13) is an 8th grader at the EAGLE School of Madison. She began studying violin at age 5 with Diana Popowycz and currently studies with Erika Stierli through the Suzuki Strings of Madison. Lydia is a two-time winner of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Bach Double competition (2024 and 2025). In addition to performing with WYSO’s Philharmonia Orchestra, she has been a member of Sonora, the advanced touring ensemble of the Suzuki Strings of Madison, for the past three years. A dual citizen of the United States and Germany, Lydia divides her time between Madison and Berlin, where she was a member of the Gymnasium Steglitz orchestra and participated in an exchange with Barcelona’s Escola de Música Àngels Casas. Lydia also enjoys running cross country, reading, learning foreign languages, and musical theatre. She looks forward to performing the role of Mayzie LaBird in her school’s production of “Seussical.”
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA HONORABLE MENTION
Clara Galvez-Martinez, VIOLIN
Clara Galvez-Martinez is a 15 year old student who has been playing the violin for nine years. She enjoys playing the piano as well as the violin, and would also like to learn the organ. Clara also plays in the chamber program in WYSO, her third year of doing so, and has also been in WYSO for three years.
Her hobbies are amateur composition, writing poetry, and painting, but mostly composing duets for violin and piano in her spare time.
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA HONORABLE MENTION
Emily Bailen-Gleason, VIOLa
Emily Bailen-Gleason is a 17 year old violist at Sun Prairie East High School. This is her 3rd year in WYSO and has loved every moment. She has gone to Interlochen Arts Camp the past two years and had the opportunity to work with many wonderful musicians. Emily has also been in the pit for two SPASD productions, Big Fish and Bright Star. When she is not playing viola she can be found crocheting or reading. She is very excited for the opportunity to perform her concerto.