Young Artist Concerto Competition
The winner of our annual contest receives a cash prize and the opportunity to perform with the orchestra in our spring concert.
Our 2026 Winner:
Alex Forman, cello
Alex Forman is currently a Junior at Enloe Magnet High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Alex began piano at four years old and picked up the cello at age nine. He currently studies with Caroline Stinson at Duke University.
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As a chamber musician, Alex is currently a member of the Tempus Piano Quartet, which won first prize at the USC Chamber Day Competition in 2025 and will compete in the quarterfinals of the Fischoff International Chamber Competition later this spring.
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As a soloist, Alex received the Honorable Mention prize in the Duke String School Concerto Competition in 2024. He has also had the opportunity to sit principal cello of numerous local, regional, and state level orchestra events.
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He has spent his summers at both the Kinhaven Music School and the Interlochen Arts Academy, and will be attending the Bowdoin International Music Festival this summer.
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Alex plans to attend music school after graduating high school next year. In addition to playing cello, he also enjoys reading, napping, good food, and rock climbing.
Alex will be performing Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme in the Chapel Hill Philharmonia's May 3rd concert. Please come support this talented young artist!
Past Winners
2025
Eric Sun, Piano
Eric, who has been playing piano since he was five years old, won the Young Artist Concerto Competition while a junior at East Chapel Hill High School. He performed the first movement of the Saint Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 with the CHP. When not playing piano, he also enjoys tennis, singing, and science.