2026 Summer Finalists Announced by Charleston International Music Competition

International Performers Recognized During a Season of Musical Learning, Practice, and Artistic Discovery

CHARLESTON, SC, UNITED STATES, July 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Charleston International Music Competition (CIMC) has announced the finalists of the 2026 Summer Music Competition, celebrating musicians whose performances reflect creativity, discipline, and continued artistic development during one of the most active seasons of the musical year.
For many students and performers, summer is a time to focus on music without the demands of a traditional academic schedule. Musicians spend these months exploring new repertoire, refining technique, participating in festivals and camps, preparing for auditions, and working closely with teachers to reach new artistic goals.
The 2026 Summer Music Competition celebrates that spirit of dedication by recognizing performances submitted by musicians representing a broad range of musical backgrounds, experience levels, and artistic perspectives.
Participants performed on piano, strings, voice, winds, chamber ensembles, and additional instruments. Each performance was evaluated for musical interpretation, technical command, stylistic understanding, artistic communication, and overall presentation.
Since its founding in 2020, the Charleston International Music Competition has recognized more than 8,000 musicians from over 100 countries through its year-round international competitions, creating opportunities for students, teachers, amateur musicians, and emerging artists to share their performances with a worldwide audience.

2026 Summer Music Competition Finalists
BASSOON
Ethan Jeong, Ashley Jung, Yuvin Kwon
CELLO
Ryan Hsieh, Jean-Luc Le, Jonah Lee, Kaylee Tian
CLARINET
Luke Jeon, Shriya Lakra, Isabella Zhang
FLUTE
Angelina Kim, Renha Kim, Rylie Pham, Annabella Smith, Shari Snelling, Zihan (Ruby) Wang
HAEGEUM
Anne Han
HARP
Karen Koh, Hermione So
MARIMBA
Sydney Vance
MONGOLIAN HORSE FIDDLE
Angelina Kim
OBOE
Esha Desai, Avin Kwon
PIANO
Daniel Ashida, Aydin Bega, Helena Belgardt, Brycen Chen, Eric Chen, Julia Chen, Ryan Cheng, Arunav Chowdhury, Madeleine Del Deo, Aria Doshi, Sherry Du, Eric Feng, Phil Feng, Jie Xi Fu, Maxwell Gan, Siena Geddes, Gelareh Ghasemi, Hannah Golightly, Karina Golightly, William Golightly, Mia Gonzalez, Alexandra Grasmick, Edward Han, Anna Hotom, Wynn Huang, Aarushi Jain, Andrew Jung, Alain Kang, Lucas Karamanoukian, Anna Khudalova, John Kim, Olivia Kim, Tyler Kim, Shaurya Kuchoor, Sky Lam, Charlotte Lee, Seunghwi Lee, Seyoung Lee, Zimo Li, Benjamin Liang, Andi Ruoxi Ma, Max Mihov, Evangeline Mills, Demian Orlov, Kayla Ostrow, Elizabeth Pincas, Rhea Prakash, Lori-Ann Qiao, Ananya Sadineni, Pranav Sadineni, Ahaan Shah, Saina Shah, Julia Shao, Paarth Sood, Pranav Sundarrajan, Michelle Tiang, Tyler Truewothy, Lucas Wong, Lia Wu, Jack Xia, Alex Yan, Eli Ye, Kai Yuan, Scarlett Zhang, Angela Zhao, Yihong Zhao
SAXOPHONE
Kento Ogata
VIOLA
Rosemary Metaxatos
VIOLIN
Elisa Chong, Justin Ham, Noelle Hwang, Hayden Kuan, Jamie Lan, Daphne Li, Lillian Lin, Margot Metaxatos, Emmett Paik, Callie Tsai, Sophia Tsuang, Christopher Wang, Tavia Widjojo, Justin Xia, Philip Yim, Deborah Zhu
VOCAL
Siyona Arora, Saumya Aroskar, Asha Blum, Vinya Chhabra, Eileen Ge, Sean Kang, Aaditha Kannam, Lyra Khullar, Zoilita Lester, Sarah Liu, Riya Mohan, Meera Nair, Peyton Nguyen, Kristina Raevsky, Zara Ram, Emily Tsyris, Cassie Wang, Nancy Wang, Alyssa Wenger, Rachel Xia, Abigail Xu
ENSEMBLES
Enzo Grootens, Aranza Grootens, Lyra Khullar, Neysa Khullar, Chloe Yang, Haley Wong

A Global Community of Musicians
Every Charleston International Music Competition brings together performers from different countries, cultures, educational systems, and musical traditions.
This international community is one of the defining characteristics of the competition. Young beginners perform alongside advanced students, adult musicians continue lifelong musical journeys, and teachers encourage their students to pursue meaningful artistic goals while connecting with a worldwide community of performers.
By providing an accessible international platform, the competition encourages musicians to continue performing, learning, and developing throughout every stage of their musical journey.

Hear from Participants
Students, parents, and teachers interested in learning more about the participant experience can explore written and video testimonials shared by members of the CIMC community.
Written Testimonials
https://charlestoncompetition.com/testimonials/
Video Testimonials
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgdkUhRgoAHrQmKn1dwO4qBX_vGCT7qkA

Watch Finalist Performances
Selected finalist performances from the 2026 Summer Music Competition are available on the official Charleston International Music Competition YouTube channel, where audiences can enjoy performances by musicians from around the world across a wide variety of instruments and musical styles.
https://youtube.com/@charlestoncompetition

Results Announcement
Official results for the 2026 Summer Music Competition will be published on July 10, 2026, at:
https://charlestoncompetition.com/results

Upcoming Competitions
2026 19th Century Music Competition
Application Deadline: July 15, 2026
2026 World Music Competition
Application Deadline: August 15, 2026
2026 Autumn Music Competition
Application Deadline: September 15, 2026
Complete competition information, eligibility requirements, and application guidelines are available at:
https://charlestoncompetition.com

About Charleston International Music Competition
Founded in 2020, the Charleston International Music Competition (CIMC) is an international music organization that has recognized more than 8,000 musicians from over 100 countries through its online competition programs.
CIMC welcomes participants of all ages, instruments, and experience levels while providing opportunities for artistic recognition, international performance exposure, and continued musical development. Through its year-round competitions, the organization connects students, teachers, performers, and families from around the world in celebration of musical achievement.
Learn more at:
https://charlestoncompetition.com

Charleston Competition
Charleston Music LLC
contact@charlestoncompetition.com
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