The Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles (QCSYE) is proud to announce the winners of the Concerto Competition held on Sunday, December 8, 2024. The competition consisted of eleven accomplished Youth Symphony Orchestra (YSO) members performing selections of their choice for the chance to win one of two prestigious prizes.
The winner of the Grand Prize is violinist Nathan Chen. Chen’s exemplary talent and dedication has earned him the honor of performing Tzigane by Maurice Ravel with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra at the QCSO/QCSYE Side-by-Side Concert on Sunday, April 27, 2025, at 3:00 PM at the Adler Theatre.
Nathan is a freshman at Iowa City West High School. He has studied violin since the age of 6 and currently studies with Mrs. Dawn Ohmes and Mr. Jason Depue. In the summer of 2023, he studied with Dr. Ching-Yi Lin at the Indiana University Summer String Academy.
Nathan was awarded the runner-up in the Junior String Division of the 2024 Musical Teachers National Association (MTNA) State Competition. He was also accepted into the 1st violin section of the 2024 Iowa All-State orchestra and received an honorable mention in the 2023 QCSYE Concerto Competition. Nathan is the concertmaster of the West High School Philharmonic Orchestra. In previous years, Nathan has been accepted into the Iowa Junior Honor Orchestra and Kennedy Honor Orchestra.
Nathan loves sharing music with his community and was awarded the 2024 Iowa City Human Rights Award. He is the co-founder of the student quartet “SENA”, which has performed at the Lunar New Year Gala, Coralville Asian Festival, Coralville Global Community Festival and retirement home facilities. Nathan is also a member of the classical music club, “Cadenza,” in his high school, performing at various charity events.
Outside of music, Nathan enjoys biology, 3D printing, and robotics, as well as rowing.
The YSO Prize has been awarded to Linda Phan, a sophomore violinist and student at Pleasant Valley High School. Linda’s outstanding performance secured her the opportunity to perform the first movement of Antonin Dvorak’s Violin Concerto in A minor at the YSO Finale Concert on Sunday, May 11, 2025, at 3:00 PM at the Bartlett Performing Arts Center.
Linda is a student at the Music Institute of Chicago, where she studies violin with Almita Vamos and Davis King. She is grateful for the opportunity to perform as a soloist with orchestras such as the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (2021, 2023), Central Iowa Symphony, Sun Symphony Orchestra, Vietnam National Academy of Music Orchestra, and Junior Maius Orchestra.
Beyond performing, Linda is dedicated to using music to give back to her community. She organizes and performs in Sharing the Love, an annual summer concert series that raises money for children’s charities in Vietnam. Linda also participates in other fundraising events in the U.S. and Vietnam and coordinates Etudes for Elders, a project that brings live music to nursing home residents in the U.S.
Linda has received scholarships to several summer programs, including Center Stage Strings at the University of Michigan, Festival Del Lago in Mexico, the Heifetz Institute Summer Program, Intermediate Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen Arts Camp (where she served as concertmaster), Advanced String Quartet at Interlochen, and the Manhattan School of Music Summer Program.
In addition to violin, Linda plays viola and piano and has earned recognition in local piano competitions. She hopes to continue using music to connect people and make a positive impact.
Tickets are available to hear the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles and Nathan and Linda perform throughout the season at qcso.org.
***Courtesy of the Quad City Symphony Youth Ensembles***
