Double Bassist Anderson Widjaja was the first place winner of the 2022 WMEA Solo/Ensemble winner for Solo Double Bass. He was the 2nd place winner at PAFE's 2022 Concerto Competition, won 2nd at the 2022 OPUS State Competition for Washington State, and was a finalist at the 2022 SYAMF Concerto Competition. Recently Anderson appeared on King FM's NW Focus Live, hosted by Dr. Quinton Morris, where he performed the 3rd movement of Koussevitzky's Double Bass Concerto. In addition to his solo work, Anderson was chosen to lead the bass section of WMEA's 2022 All-State Orchestra, is a member in SYSO's Youth Orchestra, and attended the Boston University Tanglewood Institute this past summer. He currently studies with Patrick Marckx in Bellevue.
Melanie Yutong Liu, age 13, is an 8th grade student at Heatherwood Middle School in Mill Creek. She has performed piano concertos with several orchestras, including the Mukilteo Orchestra and Bellevue Symphony. A top prize winner of over 20 piano competitions and festivals to date, she most recently won Gold at the 2022 Pacific International Piano Competition. Melanie has won several important regional, national and international piano competitions: 1st prize of the 2022 9th Annual Rome International Music Competition, 1st place at the 2022 KMA Music Competition, and Gold Medals at the 2021 Russian Music Competition and 2022 Chopin Foundation of the United States, NW Council. Outside of piano, Melanie also enjoying playing the violin. She loves reading, art, and cycling. She also enjoys math and science at school.
Rachel Jung is a 9th grader in the Bellevue School District Advanced Learning program. She began playing violin at age 6, and she has won numerous top prizes at local competitions, including the Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside, Seattle MTA Simon-Fiset String Competition, Seattle Russian Festival, Bach and Classical Viennese Festival, Korean Music Association, and the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival. She was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall after winning 1st place at the Elite International Music Competition, and this past summer, she gave a 30-minute live performance for Music Under the Stars, hosted by the Seattle Chamber Music Society. In addition to violin, Rachel has participated in swim teams, soccer, and figure skating, and has won medals and trophies from piano, chess, spelling, and math competitions. She currently enjoys challenging herself with debate and national math competitions.