Youth Concerto Competition 2025 Winners
Congratulations to the talented winners of the North Carolina Symphony’s 2025 Kathleen Price and Joseph M. Bryan Youth Concerto Competition!
YOUNG ARTISTS DIVISION
First Prize: José Sequeira-Martínez (violin), Chausson: Poème, Op. 25
Second Prize: Quenton Blache (cello), Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 107
Honorable Mention: Aidan Hartman (piano), Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
First Prize: José Sequeira-Martínez, violin
José Sequeira-Martínez is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in violin performance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA), studying with Kevin Lawrence. Born and raised in Costa Rica, José obtained his musical education at the National Institute of Music, where he studied with Daniela Arley and graduated with a bachelor’s degree with honors in music performance and education in 2024.
José has attended Sewanee Summer Music Festival (2017), National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute at the Kennedy Center (2018 & 2019, performing as concertmaster and associate concertmaster), International Music Festival of SIFAIS & Sound Impact (2019), Curtis Summerfest Young Artists Summer Program (2020), and Huilo Huilo Music Festival (2022 & 2023), where he won the Huilo Huilo Young Soloists Competition—a prize which included a violin made for him by luthier Anton Ibacache. He will attend the 2025 Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival as the Equity Arc Fellow.
Professional ensembles in which José has performed include the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica and the Winston-Salem Symphony (WSS), which awarded him a UNCSA/WSS Orchestral Strings Fellowship beginning in 2024.
Second Prize: Quenton Blache, cello
Quenton Blache is a cellist and composer from Wake Forest, North Carolina. Now based in Los Angeles, he has performed nationally and internationally as a soloist and chamber musician and is a current member of the Sphinx Virtuosi. A frequent session musician, he has played on soundtracks for major films such as Moana 2 (2024) and Sinners (2025). In January 2025, he performed at the Grammy Awards with Best New Artist nominee Teddy Swims.
As a composer, Quenton has written works for the Little Orchestra Society, North Carolina Chamber Music Institute, MYCO Youth Chamber Orchestra, Sphinx Organization, and more. His string orchestra work Habari Gani (2023), premiered by the Sphinx Virtuosi, has reached global audiences, with orchestral performances in cities including Bangkok, Thailand. Quenton has also scored several films, including Shape of Money (2024) and the documentary The Gospel According to Bill Pannell (2024).
In his spare time, he enjoys playing chess and aspires to become an International Master. Quenton plays a modern cello made by Paris-based luthier Michael Fazio.
JUNIOR DIVISION
First Prize: Eric Sun (piano), Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
Second Prize: Owen Burch (clarinet), Weber: Concertino for Clarinet in E, Op. 26
Honorable Mention: Elijah Chen (cello), Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
First Prize: Eric Sun, piano
Eric has won the Young Artist Concerto and performed with the Chapel Hill Philharmonia. He has also been the grand prize winner of Bach Akademie Charlotte’s Carolina Bach Competition, a first-place winner in the Elite international Music Competition, a first-place winner in the DMTA Performance Festival piano competition, and a recipient of the NGPT Paderewski Award, among many others. His talent has led him to perform at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.
Besides his passion for piano, Eric holds a variety of other interests including tennis, singing, and science.
Second Prize: Owen Burch, clarinet
Owen Burch is a rising junior in the UNC School of the Arts (UNCSA) high school program, where he studies with Oskar Espina Ruiz. When not at school, Owen studies with Samuel Sparrow in Charlotte. Owen is the winner of the Charlotte Symphony Guild’s 2025 Young Artist Competition – Intermediate Level and the Charlotte Pride Band’s 2025 Youth Soloist Competition, a finalist for the International Clarinet Association’s 2025 High School Solo Competition, and an alternate for Carnegie Hall’s 2025 NYO2 ensemble and the United States Navy Band’s 2025 Young Artist Solo Competition. In addition, Owen is a former member of the Youth Orchestras of Charlotte and the Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble and has participated in numerous honor clinics, including as principal clarinet in the 2024 NCMEA Western Region Orchestra.
