Welcome to the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra!
2026 Bravura Young Artists Competition
Dear Students, Parents and Teachers,
Thank you so much for participating in the 2026 Bravura Philharmonic Young Artists Concerto Competition! We have 70 contestants this year, representing 11 states from across the country. There are 16 who are auditioning “in-person” and 54 via video recordings. There are 30 violinists, 20 cellists, 11 pianists, 3 clarinetists, 2 oboists, and 1 flutist, and 2 performing on the marimba and 1 on the euphonium.
Today, our adjudicators will listen to the 16 in-person performances, having previously viewed the video recordings. The competition is open to the public. Recording the contestants is encouraged, as this provides an excellent educational opportunity for them. However, the recording of performers other than your own participant is not permitted. The adjudicators will choose a maximum of four Gold Medal winners to perform their concertos at a concert featuring them with the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday, June 7, 2026. In addition, the judges will select a winner from contestants residing in Middlesex or Mercer Counties - the local community where the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra is based.
In recognition of the extremely high level of so many of the competitors, the judges will also declare silver and bronze medal winners to acknowledge their dedication and fabulous performances. As the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra has also been engaged to perform at additional concert venues, some silver and bronze winners may be invited to be appear with the orchestra on these occasions. We will post the winners at the end of the day on the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra website: www.bravuraphil.org.
Being able to compete at such a high level is a tremendous accomplishment, so we would like to express our gratitude to you, your teachers, parents, and your accompanists. We applaud each and every one of you!
Ellen Fisher-Deerberg, Director of Competition
Judges for the 2026 Competition
Chiu-Tze Lin, music director and conductor of the award-winning Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, is a versatile and multifaceted musician - conductor, pianist, and teacher. Ms. Lin was selected for a 2023 Top 100 Global Lifetime Achievement award in the arts. While serving as the conductor of the Manalapan Battleground Symphony, she received the Victor Grossinger Award for Innovative Programming. Ms. Lin was inducted into the Steinway Teachers Hall of Fame, the first time that such honors were bestowed by the Steinway company. She is also a Music Teachers National Association Foundation Fellow, a recognition given only to individuals who have made significant contributions to music education in the country. Ms. Lin was selected as a “Hottest Artist in New Jersey” in 2001 by the Asbury Park Press. As a concert pianist, Ms. Lin has been acclaimed by the New York Times for her “strong technique, a hearty tone that sounded big and unforced [which] provides the greatest musical pleasure.” She is a Steinway Artist who has performed in Asia, Europe, and across the United States. Ms. Lin has appeared as a touring soloist with the Chicago Symphony and was a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony. Her second CD featuring works of Bach solo piano works has been described by New York Concert Review as a “... most satisfying performance... with eloquence and sensitivity.” Her recordings have been broadcast across the country. Ms. Lin directed the first international summer music festival sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Culture. She conducted the Shanghai Musicians Chamber Orchestra in the Sino-American Cultural Exchange Concert. The performancewas featured on CCTV, which transmits across China and around the world.
After winning 1st prize in the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 1997, pianist Per Tengstrand has performed in venues such as the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Great Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He has performed as a soloist with the Detroit Symphony, National Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Japan Philharmonic, Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, Singapore Symphony, and Orchestre National de France, and other orchestras around the world. Tengstrand is the subject of the acclaimed documentary “The Soloist,” directed by Magnus Gertten and Stefan Berg. He is the Artistic Director of Music on Park Avenue in New York, Princeton Chamber Music Series, and a festival bearing his name, Tengstrandfestivalen, in his native town of Växjö in Sweden. He is the recipient of the Royal Medal of Litterus and Artibus, which he received from the King of Sweden. Tengstrand’s film on Beethoven, “Freedom of the Will,” received numerous international awards. His second film, “Piano Rivals,” will be screened at the Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in 2026, as well as in cities including New York, San Francisco, and Boston. In November of 2025, Tengstrand passed the United States Figure Skating Association’s test to receive a Gold Medal in adult figure skating skills. He resides in Princeton, New Jersey.
Violinist Cheng-Chih Kevin Tsai, concertmaster of the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, has been described by The Strad magazine as a violinist “with admirable facility.” Dr. Tsai earned his doctoral degree from Rutgers University under Arnold Steinhardt, and he was a pupil of Glenn Dicterow and Dorothy Delay at the Juilliard School. He studied chamber music with Felix Galamir and members of the Tokyo, Emerson, and Guarneri String quartets. He was first violinist and founding member of the Killington String Quartet. A native of Taiwan, Dr. Tsai is the recipient of numerous awards, including winning the Chi-Mei and the Taiwan National Violin competitions, and he is the first recipient of the Darrow Prize from the Killington Music Festival. Dr. Tsai has given solo recitals and master classes, and he has performed as a soloist and in string quartets in many major cities in North America and Taiwan, and in European countries including Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and France. He has appeared in concert at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Alice Tully Hall, and collaborated with artists such as Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tree, and Pinchas Zukermann. In addition to his active private studio, Dr. Tsai is a highly sought-after chamber music coach. The groups he has worked with have won top awards in chamber music competitions that have enabled them to perform in prestigious venues in New York City.