Jaxon Yoon is a senior at Valencia High School (CA) and has been studying the cello for 11 years.  In the Summer of 2025, he made his Carnegie Hall solo debut, and has been invited back several times since. Jaxon has achieved numerous honors, including Grand Prize in the New York International Classical Music Competition, 1st prize in the Miclot International Music Competition, 1st prize in the JCM Concerto Competition, 1st prize in the Golden Classical Awards Competition, 2nd prize in the SYMF Competition, Quarterfinalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and is currently a finalist in the American Virtuoso International Music Competiton. He has also received personal teachings from cellists Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Jens Peter Maintz, Clive Greensmith, Brinton Averil Smith, Nicholas Canellakis, Steuart Pincombe, Jonah Kim, Zvi Plesser, Sterling Elliot, Julia Bruskin, Alexander Zhiroff, Joseph Kuipers, and Galvin Cello Quartet member Luiz Venturelli, and collaborated in chamber music with Danbi Um, Jordan Bak, and Lluis Claret.

A passionate orchestral player, Jaxon has performed extensively with the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra and Pacific Symphony Santiago Strings in the renowned Segerstrom Hall. In the Summer of 2026, he was named associate principal of the Juilliard Summer Orchestra.

An avid chamber musician, Jaxon gave a six-performance tour throughout Korea and Japan with his piano trio in the Summer of 2025. They have also earned consecutive finalist positions in the MTAC VOCE Chamber Competition. Jaxon will continue his chamber music studies at Colburn School. He also enjoys giving back to his community and is the president of the volunteer ensemble, "Quarantet". Starting during COVID, it began with the mission of spreading joy with musical performances. They have performed in senior homes, preschools, hospitals, country clubs, city events, and numerous times for the U.S. Secret Service in the Nixon Library. Jaxon also volunteers through Love in Music, which provides free instrumental music and theory lessons to the underprivileged.

Justin Kijun Lee (14) is a South Korean-born cellist who began studying cello at age four and moved to the U.S. shortly after. He resides in Oakton, Virginia, and is a scholarship student at Juilliard Pre-College studying under Clara Minhye Kim.

In 2026, Justin was named an MTNA National Junior Finalist and won the second prize at the MTNA National Conference in Chicago. Justin won the Grand Prize at the Richmond Symphony League’s Concerto Competition, and will perform Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Richmond Symphony in September 2026. He also won the Camerata Artists International Competition and appeared as a soloist with the Camerata New Jersey Orchestra. In June 2026, Justin's performance of Songs My Mother Taught Me by Antonin Dvorak was featured on Daily Joy of From the Top.

Justin has received top awards in national and international competitions. In previous years, he won Grand Prizes including the Manhattan International Music Competition, Enkor International Music Competition, New York International Classical Music Competition, Korean Youth Honor Society Competition, and appeared as a soloist with the Accord Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. 

Justin has performed on some of the nation’s most celebrated stages including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Merkin Hall, DiMenna Center, the National Gallery of Art, and other distinguished venues.

Justin is active in chamber and orchestral music, studying in Virginia and at Juilliard Pre-College. He has performed with the Quantum Trio, Mosaic Quartet, the Capitol Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. He also serves as a regional director of the Back to Bach Project and as a performance member of Friday Morning Club, Inc., where he actively volunteers at local libraries, schools, and senior centers.

Justin has attended summer programs including Heifetz and the Morningside Music Bridge Program on a full scholarship, and has studied with or taken masterclasses from renowned cellists such as Laurence Lesser, Paul Katz, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Lluís Claret, Matt Haimovitz, Andrés Diaz, and Zvi Plesser.

Outside of music, Justin enjoys folding complex origami, which, like cello, requires both artistry and discipline. His works have been featured in The Paper by Origami USA and in a traveling exhibit across the United States.

Elizabeth Levine studies piano with Yukimi Song in New York City. She has performed at world-renowned venues, including multiple performances at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY; Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston, TX; and Wilson Center in Wilmington, NC. She will attend Aspen Music Festival and School (summer 2026), where she will study with Hung-Kuan Chen, and she has been selected to be an Artemisia Akademie Fellow at Juilliard 2026-207. Elizabeth attended Vivace International Music Festival in Wilmington, NC (2025), XXIX International Piano Festival “Chopin Summer” in Busko-Zdrój, Poland (2024), and Mozarteum University Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria (2024). Elizabeth made her orchestral debut with the Somerset Symphony Orchestra in 2023, and she performed her first solo concert at the National Opera Center in New York, NY in 2025. She has performed in masterclasses with distinguished artists such as Eteri Andjaparidze, Michael Berkovsky, Hung-Kuan Chen, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Yakov Kasman, Marina Lomazov, Jerome Lowenthal, Ursula Oppens, Olga Kern, Krystian Tkaczewski and Mikhail Voskresensky.

Elizabeth was one of a few dozen pianists selected from thousands of applicants to perform a concert at Grand Central Station as part of the “Dear New York” art installation (2025). She also recorded works by Chopin, Beethoven and an arrangement of Vivaldi while serving as a hand double for piano scenes in the independent feature film, “A Minor Time” (2025, currently in post-production), and she played the lead role in a short film “First Semester,” a comedic sketch about a piano lesson (2025).

Elizabeth has earned top prizes in more than 30 international piano competitions. Recent highlights include Absolute First Prize at Orbetello International Competition; First Prize at Ocean Music International Piano Competition; First Prize at International Grande Music Competition; Absolute First Prize/Sviatoslav Richter Prize at Great Piano Masters International Piano Competition; Absolute Platinum Medal at Trinity International Music Competition; Grand Prize at New York Laureate International Music Competition; and First Prize at Silicon Valley Open Doors International Piano Competition. She was awarded Second Prize at both the Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, Connecticut and the Henle International Piano Competition. 

An enthusiastic chamber musician, Elizabeth has performed with The Chamber Music Center of New York and has participated in chamber music programs led by Mannes School faculty and New York Philharmonic musicians. She is also a member of the Youth Roster for Concerts in Motion, providing in-person and virtual performances for elderly and homebound individuals.

Elizabeth is also a nationally recognized visual artist. Elizabeth’s art was featured on the cover of The Week Junior (2025), as the winner of their cover contest. Two of her flag designs were exhibited at Rockefeller Center as part of international art showcases, and she has designed two stamps selected for Easterseals’ national campaigns (2026 and 2024), distributed to over 20 million households. Elizabeth appeared on NBC’s The Today Show to speak about her artistic inspiration.

Ariella Lee is a talented young cellist who began her musical journey at the age of four. Since then, she has distinguished herself through performances on prestigious stages and participation in internationally recognized music programs. At the age of seven, Ariella made her debut at Carnegie Hall, marking an important milestone in her young musical career. At the age of eight, she participated in the Heifetz International Music Institute Summer Festival, where she performed both as a soloist and chamber musician. In 2024, she became the youngest junior cellist ever to participate in the program, demonstrating her exceptional musical ability and dedication at an early age.

In July 2025, Ariella was selected to participate in the Mozarteum University Summer Academy Masterclass Program in Salzburg, Austria, where she received a full scholarship. During the academy, she studied cello with Konstantin Zelenin, gaining valuable experience through intensive study and masterclasses in one of Europe's most renowned musical environments.

In 2026, at the age of ten, Ariella was selected for the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival Junior Program, where she received a merit scholarship. She was also the youngest cellist in the program.

Through her performances, international music programs, and continued study with accomplished musicians, Ariella Lee is developing into a promising young cellist with a growing presence in the classical music community.