2026 Boston University Spotlight

Presented by Boston University School of Music

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 • 7:30pm

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
154 W 57th St, New York, NY

This annual concert presented by Boston University (BU) College of Fine Arts School of Music features the winners of the annual BU Spotlight competition. The concert at New York City’s renowned concert venue features a select group of Boston University student performers who showcase their expressive and technical gifts through a variety of short works written by some of the world’s great composers.

PERFORMERS & PROGRAM

 

  • Jisoo Kim (CFA’30) • violin – Honza Nori by Young Jo Lee

  • Grayson Hinrichs (CFA’27) • tuba – Blue Grace by Claire Sievers

  • Freya Downey (CFA’26) • viola – ko’u inoa by Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti

  • Shuangxiang Shan (CFA’26) • tenor and Yifang Xu (CFA’29) • piano – Las nubes by Carlos Guastavino

  • Ying Jin (CFA’27) • flute –  Soliloquy, Op. 44 by Lowell Liebermann

  • Andy OuYang (CFA’29) • violin – Second String Force by Joan Tower

  • Heming Cao (CFA’27) • tenor & Ethan McGrath (CFA’29) • piano – Two Songs by Franz Liszt

Performer Selection Process

The performers for the spring 2025 concert were selected after participating in a competition in the fall of 2024, when each applied department within BU School of Music (Voice, Piano, Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion) held preliminary auditions open to seniors and graduate student performers. Finalists selected from each department competed before a panel of outside adjudicators, all renowned performing musicians. Finally, a slate of performers and a program was crafted under the curatorship of then director of the School of Music. These exceptional BU musicians performed on the stage that has hosted world-class, top tier soloists and performing groups from prestigious musical organizations who regularly perform in Carnegie’s various concert series.