Young Concert Artists

Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based artist management company dedicated to discovering and advancing the careers of talented young classical musicians from around the world. The organization, founded in 1961, invites artists to audition and compete as soloists or in an ensemble. The number of winners varies from year to year, as there is no specified limit to the number of participants who can win.

Winners of the audition sign with the organization for management and are presented in recitals at Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. during their first season. They are also provided with managers who secure concerts both in the United States and abroad, and assist with career development, promotion, and publicity materials. Many artists in the program’s history have also made their debut albums through the support of the organization.

Notable alumni who began their careers at Young Concert Artists include violinists Pinchas Zukerman, Ray Chen, Anne Akiko Meyers, Viviane Hagner, Karen Gomyo, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Mayuko Kamio, Ida Kavafian and Randall Goosby; pianists Murray Perahia, Emanuel Ax, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Richard Goode, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Fazıl Say, Lise de la Salle, Freddy Kempf, Olli Mustonen, Jeremy Denk, Aristo Sham, and George Li; cellists Alban Gerhardt, Narek Hakhnazaryan and Edgar Moreau; violists Nobuko Imai and Antoine Tamestit; the Tokyo, St. Lawrence, and Modigliani string quartets; singers Dawn Upshaw, Julia Bullock, and Sasha Cooke; and composers Andrew Norman, Mason Bates and Kevin Puts.