Hana Gottesman, age 14, has performed on both coasts of the United States, including recitals in San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia as well as Town Hall and Benaroya Hall in Seattle. She appeared on the Ross Arts Chamber Music series and performed as a featured soloist with the Sonoma Strings in California. A winner of the Seattle Young Artist Music Festival Concerto Competition, and the Eastside Symphony Young Soloist Concerto Competition, Hana has also twice won First Prize at the Simon-Fiset/SMTA Competition, including the Jean Kantner Memorial Trophy for Best Performance of a Baroque Composition. Hana was also a finalist at the 2023 Postacchini International Violin Competition in Italy. She has recently performed as soloist with Philharmonia Northwest, and in the 2023-2024 season will appear as soloist with the Eastside Symphony, the Bellevue Symphony, and the Northwest Symphony Orchestra.
Jesse Krentz is a 14-year-old Seattle native, in the 8th grade. He began his studies with his father, Kevin Krentz, when he was 6 years old. His stepmother, grandfather, and sister also play the cello, so Jesse has been surrounded by cello since birth. Jesse has won many awards including the MTNA National Junior Strings Competition Second Place, and winner of the Seattle Youth Symphony Concerto Competition, the Slava International Cello Competition, the King’s Peak International Competition, the Bellagrande International Music Competition, the Vivo International Competition, The New York Classical Music Competition Grand Prize, The Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside, including the Special Judges Award, and the Simon-Fiset Strings Competition. His concerto debut was at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Youth Symphony at age 12. In his free time, Jesse enjoys sports, supercars, and fishing with his family.
Jaeha Lee, a natural-born cellist, began playing in September 2019 when he was 7 years old. As he advanced, he began to stand out in competitions two years later, including PAFE, the Seattle Young Artist Festival (2023), and the Nouvelles Etoiles competition (2023). Through his playing and his embracing tone on the cello, Jaeha wishes to spread the warmth of music to people. When not a cellist, Jaeha loves to swim and has a fascination for marine life.
Hana has studied violin with Jan Coleman, continues her studies with Simon James, and has played in masterclasses of Theodore Arm, Paul Hersh, Keng-Yuen Tseng, Ann Setzer, and Soovin Kim. Born and raised in Washington, Hana enjoys reading, swimming, and is enthusiastic about her academic activities, especially language studies, which include Spanish and Japanese. Hana has been a medal winner and is certified in the field of abacus mathematics and was also a state finalist with her teammates for Washington Future Problem Solving.
Alvin Lee is a 9-year-old piano wizard. He started taking piano lessons at age 7, and within 6 months, he began performing with complete piano literacy and proficiency. Alvin then began entering piano competitions and won a series of consecutive Gold Medals and top prizes at the 2023 Brussels International Music Competition, 2023 Pacific International Piano Competition, Bellevue Symphony Concerto Competition, SCMTA Concerto Competition, Chopin Northwest Competition, Russian Chamber Music Competition, International French Music Piano Competition, Rome International Music Competition, and received Platinum Medal at the 2022 Canadian International Music Competition. Most recently at the 2023 Performance Arts Festival of Eastside (PAFE), Alvin received 1st place in two piano divisions and was awarded the Adjudicator's Choice Award (given to only two pianists out of 273 pianists of all ages). Alvin is a 5th grader at Fernwood Elementary School and enjoys soccer, golf, cross country, cooking, and international traveling. He aspires to one day compete at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw.
Alexander Vollmer is an 8th grader at Lakeside School and started learning piano at age 9. He has won top prizes and Gold Medals in the following piano competitions: Charleston International Music Competition, Northern Lights Piano Festival, American Virtuoso Music Competition, UK International Music Competition, Virtuoso Festival, KMA Music Competition, Russian Chamber Music Competition, Chopin Northwest Competition, and Pacific International Piano Competition. He will perform at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall this coming November. He loves reading, math, and playing chess.