Our Team!
Emily | Cofounder
Emily Chen, 16, studies with Almita Vamos and Injoo Choi at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians.
Making her first solo orchestral debut at the age of ten, Emily performed with the Northeastern Illinois University Orchestra in 2019 and more recently with the DePaul Oistrakh Symphony in 2023.
Emily is the Grand Prize Winner of the Chicago International Music Competition, selected out of 100 contestants from 13 countries in 2024. She is also a winner of the prestigious YoungArts award (Classical Music category), String Winner of the Walgreens National Concerto Competition (2024), and the Winner of the DePaul National Concerto Competition among other top awards.
Emily has performed in masterclasses for many distinguished artists including James Ehnes, Midori, Mihaela Martin, Jinjoo Cho, Catherine Cho, Paul Kantor, Benjamin Beilman, Danielle Belen, David Taylor, Frank Huang, and many more.
In addition to performing solo, Emily is also a chamber music enthusiast. As a member of Quartet Meraviglia, she won the Bronze Medal at the 2024 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. In 2023, Emily was featured with her group, Trio Scaleno, on WFMT Introductions, Chicago’s classical music radio network, and in November of 2024, with Quartet Meraviglia.
Last summer, Emily attended the tuition-free Morningside Music Bridge (MMB) international program. MMB is sponsored by and takes place at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
Lucy Wu, 17, studies with Stefan Kartman at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, a training center for advanced pre-college musicians.
Since solo debuting at age 10 with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra as winner of the 2019 MYSO Concerto Competition, Lucy has been featured with the Milwaukee, Madison, Chippewa Valley, and Oistrakh Symphony Orchestra's. As winner of the Milwaukee Symphony Stars of Tomorrow, she performed 4 times with the MSO in their Rhythm Rhapsody concert series.
Lucy is the 2nd Grand Prize Winner of the 2024 Chicago International Music Competition, selected out of 100 contestants from 13 countries and across 6 divisions. She is winner of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Stars of Tomorrow Competition (2024), Enkor International Competition (2024), DePaul National Competition (2024), Chippewa Valley Symphony Young Artist Competition (2023), and Civic Music Association MKE Competition (2025). She is a two-time finalist in the Final Forte Competition (2023/2025), four-time scholarship award recipient at the Schubert Club Competition (2022/2023/2024/2025), and laureate of the Walgreens National Competition (2024).
Lucy's quartets have won: Bronze Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Grand Prizes at the 2025 Barnett National Chamber Music Competition and 2024 MYA Chicago National Chamber Music Competition, and Silver Medal at the 2024 Saint Paul National String Quartet Competition.
Last summer, Lucy performed with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America in multiple sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall and in the leading halls of Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, and Hong Kong.
Lucy | Cofounder
Sylvia Pine, 13, has won First Prize in more than 40 international competitions as a composer, violinist, and singer. The youngest member of both the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Young Composer’s Initiative and the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy, Sylvia has soloed with the Syracuse Orchestra and Tel Aviv Soloists, and has given solo performances in Carnegie Hall (New York), the Musikverein (Vienna), and the Royal Albert Hall (London). Sylvia loves a lot of different genres, but her favorite composer is Edvard Grieg because he's criminally underrated- his music is catchy, well-written, complex, and always seems to have some sort of a story behind it!
Sylvia | Vice President of Media
Felix Pipal, 16, studies with Adrian Zitoun and is a Merit Scholarship Fellow at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. He was a former principal in the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra's Senior Symphony. He has earned honorable mention and participated in the 2024 and 2025 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Stars of Tomorrow side-by-side performance. His favorite piece is Mahler Symphony No. 2!
Felix | Vice President of Outreach
Hello everyone! My name is Kenny Zhang, and I am a freshman at Whitefish Bay High School. I've played the violin since I was 5 years old, and I've loved the instrument ever since I first touched it. I've won the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Bach Double competition twice for both parts and participated in many other competitions. I've attended the Illinois Chamber Music Festival and Lawrence Summer Music Institute. I currently study with Sherry Sinift at the UW-Milwaukee's String Academy. My favorite classical music piece is the Brahms violin concerto. Thanks for checking out and helping us with the Harmony Project! All the best- Kenny Zhang