Freya Pang, age 17, is a senior at Hinsdale South High School in Darien, Illinois. Freya began her piano lessons at 4 years old. She is a prize winner of several national and international competitions. She is the First Place Winner at Chicago International Music Competition, New Star International Competition, Aloha International Piano Competition (Hawaii), American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, NWSMTA Piano Competition, Chopin International Competition at Hartford, Carmel Klavier International Competition (Indiana) for solo, concerto and duet divisions.

Freya has had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall at the age of 5. As the winner of the DePaul Concerto Competition, she performed with the Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Freya was invited to performed the Mozart double piano concerto with Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest. She also won the 1st place in MTNA duet category. Freya performed with the Orchestra in Perugia, Italy. She was the 2025 ISMTA duet senior state champion. She is on her school’s Science Olympiad Team, Math Team, and serves on the board of her school’s National Honor Society. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, baking, and solving crossword puzzles.

Adrian Gonzalez, 15, is a sophomore at Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago. An accomplished pianist, Adrian’s recent competitive achievements include first place in the Stanger Concerto Competition (2026), and in the Fox Valley Concerto Competition (2026). He has also been awarded first prize in the piano division at O’Malley Foundation Concerto Competition (2025), a platinum medal in the Quebec Music Competition (2025), and multiple top honors at Carmel Klavier (2024-25), including gold and silver medals in the Concerto division. Additionally, Adrian has earned gold and silver medals from CAMTA and ISMTA (2023-25).

Adrian has performed on prestigious stages internationally and domestically, including multiple times in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Sala dei Notari in Perugia, Italy, and the Palladium in Carmel, Indiana, and with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. Beyond the piano, Adrian enjoys machine learning, algorithmic trading, traditional karate, and chess.

Jeremy Liu, 14, is a 10th grader at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville. Jeremy is the 2025 winner of the Crain-Maling Foundation CSO Young Artists Competition. As a result, he had the honor of performing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this past fall. He is also the recent first place winner of the Chicago International Music Competition as well as the Carmel Klavier International Competition.

He made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 7. Since then, he has competed in various competitions. He is a four-time winner of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association (ISMTA) Competition and a three-time winner of the MTNA (Junior Division of Illinois) in 2022, 2023 and 2025. He is also a three-time first winner of the Sejong Music Competition. Additionally, he has earned first prizes in prestigious competitions such as the Walgreens National Concerto Competition, the O’ Malley Foundation National Concerto Competition, the Liszt International, Pacific International,,. In the summer of 2023, he had the honor of performing with an orchestra in Perugia, Italy.

Dana Zhang, 14, is a tenth-grade student at Oak Park and River Forest High School, Illinois, U.S.A. She won First Prize at the VI George Gershwin International Music Competition. She also received the Vertex Prize at the Vertex Music Competition, which earned her a performance opportunity with the Classical Hugs Orchestra at the Estonia Concert Hall. Her recent achievements include First Place awards at the International Mozart Competition Vienna, the International New Star Piano Competition, the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Piano Competition, and the Elevato Stanza Junior Piano Competition.

Her additional international honors include First Prize at the Franz Liszt Center International Piano Competition, Top Gold Medal at the Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition, First Prize at the IX Odin International Music Online Competition, and a Gold Medal at the North Shore Music Teachers Association Sonata-Sonatina Festival. She has also received awards from the Fox Valley Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition, the DePaul National Concerto Competition for Young Performers, the Carmel Klavier International Competition , and the London International Music Competition. A winner of the American Fine Arts Festival Competition, she performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. She performed with orchestra at Music Fest Perugia in Italy in 2025.

Kyle Tanaka is a 14-year-old pianist currently studying with Sueanne Metz. He has earned recognition in numerous regional, national, and international competitions.

His recent honors include the 2026 Bruce Berr Summer Music Scholarship; First Place in the Hawaii Round of the 2026 Osaka International Music Competition; First Prize in the 2026 US New Star Competition by Composer; the Platinum Award at the 2025 Trinity International Music Competition; First Place at the 7th International WNYLE Piano Competition; the National Merit Prize at the 2026 OPUS Music Competition; and Prize Winner at both the 2025 Sejong Music Competition and the 2026 Aloha International Piano Competition. He also received Gold Medals at the 2026 NSMTA and CAMTA Sonata–Sonatina Festivals.

In addition to piano, Kyle is an accomplished cellist and serves as Principal Cellist in his school orchestra. He has also received recognition in mathematics competitions.