2025 Boston University Spotlight

Presented by Boston University School of Music

Tuesday, March 25, 2025 • 7:30pm

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

Winners of Boston University School of Music’s annual Carnegie Hall competition showcase their expressive and technical gifts through the infinite variety of short works for soloist and piano accompaniment by the world’s great composers. This annual concert presented by Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Music at New York City’s renowned concert venue spotlights a select group of student performers who participate in a multi-stage competition and selection process run by BU School of Music to secure a spot. It underscores BU’s commitment to providing its students with real-world, professional experiences, with these students performing on the same stage that hosts world-class, top-tier soloists and performing groups from prestigious musical organizations.

PERFORMERS & PROGRAM

Performer headshots of 2025 BU Carnegie Hall competition winners

  • Ana Diaz Asencio (CFA’27) • soprano saxophone – Mi Bailaora – David Salleras
  • Catherine Butler (CFA’23,’27) • flute – Syrinx, L. 129 – Claude Debussy
  • Yun-Chen Chou (CFA’27) • marimba – Etude in F-sharp Minor – Pius Cheung
  • Lily Uijin Gwak (CFA’27) • cello, and Kyunga Lee (CFA’27) • piano – Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen,” WoO46 – Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Erin Matthews (CFA’27) • soprano and Ethan McGrath (CFA’27) • piano – On this Island: 1. Let the Florid Music Praise; 4. Nocturne; 5. As It Is Plenty – Benjamin Britten
  • Alexandru Prigalo (CFA’21,’26) • piano – 3 Movements from Petrushka, K12: III. La semaine grasse – Igor Stravinsky
  • Libang Wang (CFA’26) • baritone, and Ethan McGrath (CFA’27) • piano – Phidylé; Le Manoire de Rosemonde – Henri Duparc

 

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.