Yamaha Names Winners of Nationwide Competition

Yamaha Artist Services Indianapolis and the Band & Orchestral division of Yamaha Corporation of America have named the winners of the 2017 Yamaha Young Performing Artists (YYPA) Competition.

The judges selected 10 winners and five honorable mention recipients.

An expert panel of Yamaha Performing Artists and national celebrity musicians selected winners from a pool of audio and video auditions based on the competitor’s skills and artistry on brass, winds, strings and percussion instruments, as well as piano.

The 2017 YYPA Winners include:

Victor Hernandez Ramirez – flute; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

He Zhang – clarinet; Harbin, China

Hannah Hickman – classical saxophone; Sheldon, Iowa

Howard Dietz – jazz saxophone; Morgan Hill, Calif.

Michelle Hembree – horn; Boise, Idaho

Altin Sencalar – jazz trombone; Temple, Texas

Cameron Leach – concert percussion; Hilliard, Ohio

Stephen Morris – drum set; Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Derek Louie – cello; New York, New York

Nathan Ben-Yehuda – piano; Los Angeles, Calif.

The 2017 Honorable Mentions:

Randy Fultz – bassoon; Rochester, New York

Kei Matsumaru – saxophone; Boston, Mass.

Dylan Rye – trumpet; Fairfax, Virginia

Tanner Jackson – trombone; Rochester, New York

Man-Ling Bai – piano; Fullerton, Calif.

All of the 2017 Yamaha Young Performing Artists

Winners will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the YYPA Celebration Weekend on June 24-27, which will take place during the Music for All™ Summer Symposium. There, the winners will perform in front of thousands and will receive a professional recording and photographs of their performances.