Interlochen students, alumni selected to 2025 National Youth Orchestra and NYO2
25 current and former Academy, Camp, and Interlochen Online students will tour in Asia and Edinburgh as part of Carnegie Hall’s prestigious training and touring program for emerging musicians.
Interlochen Arts Academy senior and NYO-USA selectee Julian Jimenez-Pardo performs in the December 2023 production of Sounds of the Season.
25 current and former Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Interlochen Online students have been selected to participate in the summer 2025 National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) and NYO2.
Assembled annually by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute through a comprehensive audition process, the NYO-USA and NYO2 bring together the United States’ brightest young musicians for a free multi-week training residency and international tour. The experience allows these emerging artists to explore great music capitals of the world while serving as cultural ambassadors.
During the pre-tour training residency at Purchase College, NYO-USA and NYO2 students will work with exceptional conductors, professional musicians, and instructors drawn from the ranks of leading conservatories and orchestras. Both ensembles will present a pre-tour performance at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage before their departure: The NYO-USA will perform on Sunday, July 20, while the NYO2 will take the stage on Sunday, July 27.
The 2025 NYO-USA will join conductor Gianandrea Noseda and violinist Ray Chen for a tour of Asia—including the NYO’s debut in Japan. Repertoire for the season includes Carlos Simon’s “Festive Fanfare and Overture” (commissioned by Carnegie Hall), Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2.
Interlochen-affiliated students who have been selected to be members of the National Youth Orchestra include:
- Sophia Alexander (IAC 19) - cello
- Tarquin Bennion (IAC 22-24) - violin
- Kyle Cho (IAC 21-23) - oboe
- CJ Inkenhaus (IAC 24) - double bass
- Alec Jachalke (IAC 22-23) - bassoon
- Julian Jimenez-Pardo (IAC 22, IAA 22-present) - percussion
- Ian Kim (IAC 23) - double bass
- Benjamin Posner (IAC 24) - tuba
- Cyrano Jett Rosentrater (IO 20) - apprentice composer
- Devin Spaulding (IAA 24-present) - bass trombone
- Luke Soneral (IO 21, IAA 22-23) - apprentice composer
- Michael Treadway (IAC 23) - trombone
- Trinity Williamson (IAC 21-22) - violin
- Juliana Zheng (IAC 23) - oboe
Open to high school musicians ages 14-16, the NYO2 places a particular emphasis on recruiting musicians from communities in which fewer opportunities for high-level musical training are available. During its summer 2025 season, the NYO2 will make its European debut as one of the resident orchestras at the Edinburgh International Festival. Under the guidance of conductor Rafael Payare and cellist Alisa Weilerstein, the ensemble will master a repertoire that includes Jimmy López’s “Perú Negro,” Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1, and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.
Interlochen-affiliated students who have been selected to participate in the NYO2 include:
- Emily Alexander (IAC 19) - cello
- Kieran Alston (IAC 23, IAA 23-present) - orchestral keyboard
- Richard Celiceo (IAC 24) - violin
- Isabella Craig (IAC 22, 24, IAA 24-present) - horn
- Juliet Diaz Onderwyzer (IAC 23-24) - cello
- Elizabeth Ha (IAC 24) - oboe
- Evelyn Ha (IAC 24) - bassoon
- Ava Howell (IAC 20, 22-23) - violin
- Angelica Jones (IAC 23-24) - viola
- Eric Myung (IAC 23) - oboe
- Kaylee Nah (IAC 2024) - violin
Since the National Youth Orchestra’s inaugural season in 2013, dozens of Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Interlochen Online students have participated in the prestigious program. Notable NYO-Interlochen alumni include Andrew Burhans (IAC 19, IAA 19-21), Associate Principal Horn of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Christopher Houlihan (IAC 14-16), Principal Trombone of the Grand Rapids Symphony; and Marco Gómez (IAA 15-16; IAC St 18-19, 21; IAC Fac 24-25), Bass Trombonist of the of the Royal Danish Orchestra, among many others.
