Yamaha Announces Winners of 2013 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition

INDIANAPOLIS — Every year since 1988, Yamaha Corporation of America's Band & Orchestral Division has honored outstanding young jazz, classical and contemporary musicians under the auspices of the Yamaha Young Performing Artists (YYPA) Program, an annual competition for young artists between the ages of 16 and 21. This year marks the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition's 25th Anniversary.

Recorded submissions are evaluated by a panel of national celebrity musicians and Yamaha Performing Artists. This year, the judges selected 11 winners and 9 honorable mention recipients. The winners receive an all-expense paid trip to the YYPA Celebration Weekend, held at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, from June 22-25, 2013. YYPA Winners participate in rehearsals, master classes, social events and workshops focusing on how to establish and propel their careers in music. The talented young artists also perform in the prestigious YYPA Concert and receive a recording, video and photos of their performance, along with the benefits of being selected as a Yamaha Young Performing Artist.

This year's YYPA Concert will be held on Monday, June 24 at 8:00 pm in Emens Auditorium, and will serve as the kick-off concert for the Music for All Summer Symposium, presented by Yamaha.

"We at Yamaha strongly support young musicians and music education," said John Wittmann, Director, Artist Relations, Yamaha Artist Services Indianapolis. "Now celebrating its 25th Anniversary, the YYPA Program has helped many promising young musicians turn their talents into professional music careers."

This year, the featured guest artist is New York City-based saxophonist Nathan Childers, a former YYPA Winner and a current Yamaha Artist who has performed with Aretha Franklin, Dave Weckl, Mike Stern and in several film, television and Broadway productions. World-class pianist for the event, Linda Mark, is a member of the Accompanying/Collaborative Piano Staff at the Juilliard School in New York City.

This year's winners join the ranks of over 200 former YYPA Winners, who have gone on to establish successful music careers since the program's inception, including Ricardo Morales (1990), Principal Clarinet of the Philadelphia Orchestra; Otis Murphy (1994), saxophonist and faculty at Indiana University School of Music; Kenneth Tse (1994), saxophonist and faculty at the University of Iowa; Kevin Bobo (1994), percussionist and faculty at Indiana University School of Music; Aaron Parks (2000), jazz pianist and Blue Note recording artist and Jasmine Choi (2004), Principal Flutist with the Vienna Symphony.

The 2013 YYPA Winners include:

For more information about the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Program, write Yamaha Artist Services Indianapolis, 39 West Jackson Place, Suite 150, Indianapolis, IN 46225; call (317) 524-6251; e-mail jgascho@yamaha.com; or visit http://4wrd.it/YYPA13_PR.