Charleston International Music Competition Honors 2026 Autumn Finalists

CHARLESTON, SC, UNITED STATES, October 9, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- The Charleston International Music Competition (CIMC) has honored the finalists of its 2026 Autumn Music Competition, recognizing the dedication and artistry of musicians from around the world. Since its founding in 2020, CIMC has celebrated over 8,000 musicians from more than 100 countries, fostering a global community of musical excellence.

This year’s competition saw a diverse array of talented finalists across various instruments and vocal categories. Among the cellists were Jiho Eun, William Kim, Chaeyoung Lee, Louise Redwine, Josiah Shin, and Noah Yoon. The clarinet category was represented by Daniel Xinyu Ai, while Asher Stoogenke was the sole finalist in the drums category. Quinn Cunningham was the euphonium finalist, and the flutes were performed by Aarushi Aggarwal, Rhea Bagga, Jimin Jung, Minsol Kim, Somin Park, Pragya Prasanna, and Allison Shin. Jayden Kim was the guitar finalist, and Caitlin Tignor was the harp finalist. Grace Kwon was the oboe finalist, and the pianists included Katherine Abouchian, Theodore Anderson, Angie Lee Baker, John Chester, Elliott Chia, Oliver Daniel Chilton, Erin Chung, Blakely Mattelyn Clements, Callum Costanza, Anandi Damel, Lilly Deyton, Ronav Dharia, Daniel Aleksander Koppel, Noa Zara Koppel, Scarlett Hayoung Lee, Castor Li, Yunhan Li, Michael Litvinsky, Mary Mason, Chandler Val Maun, Harumi Nakamura, Kayla Ostrow, Lena Park, Sejun Park, Seobin Park, Joyce Ryu, Christina Saad, Richard Savoy III, Skyler Shibata, Gunes Sunar, Christine Wang, Margaret Wang, Joaquin Francisco Wong, Hunter Henry Woods, Siyi Xu, Caroline Young, Richard Yu, Atlas Yuksek, Kerem Yuksek, and Isabella Zhang.

Vocal finalists included Julia Alexandrov, Liliana Coykendall, Jian Eun, Samara Hasan, Elena He, Moka Imazeki, Kahlan Kelly, Siya Khare, Zoilita Lester, Irene Lin, Ethan Park, Arleen Prusty, Srijit Raghuram, Elizabeth Rosenberg, Maaya Sankara, Amaira Saxena, and Peyton Seifer. The ensembles category featured Alice Bradier, Clara Bradier, Derek Guan, Jun Jong, Yueqi Lao, Siyoon Lee, Allison Liu, Alice Meng, Louise Redwine, Ahin Shin, and Samantha Yee.

The trombone category was won by Joshua Choi, and the violins were played by Simon Beack, Young Joon Cho, Emilia Soo Escamilla, Austin Fukuda, Abigail Ellen Galperin, Suehyun Hong, Chloe Mirae Kim, Doeun Kim, Alice Li, Cheng-Xin Lu, Caroline Sim Oh, Ray Shi, Sean Shi, Ray Tong, Muyan Agatha Xie, Yihao Xue (Hedy), Atlas Yuksek, Kerem Yuksek, and Tianning Zhang. The violas were performed by Lynn Choi, Hyunjun Kang, Cheng-Rui Lu, and Sangjun Park, while the cellists were Ethan Qi.

CIMC extends its congratulations to all finalists and acknowledges the significant effort and dedication required to reach this stage. The competition is committed to recognizing musicians across different ages, instruments, and stages of development, providing opportunities for students, emerging artists, and experienced performers to present their work without the expense or logistical challenges of international travel.

The 2026 Autumn Music Competition results will be announced on October 10, 2026, with official prizes and recognition published on the official Charleston International Music Competition website. The competition also invites musicians to participate in upcoming events, including the 2026 Instrumental Music Competition, with an application deadline of October 15, 2026, and the 2026 Global Music Competition and 2026 Finale Music Competition, with application deadlines of November 15, 2026, and December 15, 2026, respectively.