The Final Forte 2023

Experience the beauty of artistic expression and the drama of competition as four gifted high school musicians vie for top honors in the final round of the 2023 Bolz Young Artist Competition. The concert features the sensational Madison Symphony Orchestra led by associate conductor Kyle Knox.

Learn more about The Final Forte here.

Meet the Finalists

Arisa Okamoto is a senior at Brookfield East High School. She has been playing violin since the age of four and currently studies with Ilana Setapen. Arisa received first prize in the 2023 Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and was a national finalist of the 2020 Japan Classical Music Competition.

Sophia Jiang is a junior at Vel Phillips Memorial High School in Madison. She took up piano at the age of four and currently studies with Bill Lutes. In 2021, Sophia earned first prize in both the Chippewa Valley Symphony’s Young Artist Competition and the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s Bolz Young Artist Competition.

Lucy Wu is a freshman at Whitefish Bay High School. She studies cello with Stefan Kartman and is a scholarship fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy. Lucy won the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition two years in a row, and in 2022 received the Anne French Burnham scholarship award at the Schubert Club Competition.

Amelia Zitoun is a junior at Shorewood High School. She currently studies cello with Hans Jensen and is a scholarship fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy. Amelia received first prize in both the 2022 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Stars of Tomorrow Competition and the 2021 Schubert Club Competition.

Support

Major funding for Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte is provided by Diane Ballweg, W. Jerome Frautschi, Barbara & Norm Berven, Fred & Mary Mohs, and Trust Point, with additional support from James Dahlberg & Elsebet Lund, Julie & Larry Midtbo, Elizabeth Olson, Dr. Sandra L. Osborn, Kato Perlman, Cyrena & Lee Pondrom, Sentry Insurance Foundation, Dr. A. Beyer-Mears, Darcy Kind & Marc Vitale, the Focus Fund for the Arts and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.