Public voting for the 2026 Karin Larson YourClassical Prize is now open! Below you will find the entries of each of our finalists in the Emerging Artist category, including the video of their performance and their answers to the essay questions. Videos and essay question answers are presented as submitted by the finalists. Scroll down to view each submission, and then cast your vote for your favorite candidate at the end. You may cast one vote in each category.
Public voting is open through June 7. One winner in each category will be announced on June 12.
To vote for finalists in the Preprofessional Musician Category, visit this page.
Emerging Artist Finalists
Gaia Daniel
From: Minneapolis
Title of work: "Dreaming" and "Fireflies" from Four Sketches opus 15
Name of composer: Amy Beach
Share your story of why you selected your piece and how it celebrates women in classical music.
I chose a piece by Amy Beach because I admire how she overcame tremendous hurdles in the male-dominated world of classical music. Throughout her life, her parents disapproved of a performing career and her husband banned her from playing in public more than once or twice a year. So, instead she turned to composition, where she was free to express herself. Performing this piece for a wide-reaching audience on the radio would be empowering for me as a woman because Beach was rarely able to perform her compositions under her confinement. By bringing this piece to light, I hope to encourage others to explore Beach's works and support female composers, past and present.
"Dreaming" holds a special place in my heart, as its sorrow and longing in this piece perhaps reflects the social and musical isolation Beach was subject to. I love how Beach creates a haunting melody with complex harmonies even though most of what she learned about music theory she taught herself from studying scores. "Fireflies," in contrast, demands virtuosity, and the light and fluttery yet brilliant atmosphere hints at the joy and optimism she found in composition. The brilliance of this piece is especially impressive considering her minimal formal piano instruction. Beach persevered, though, and her works still resonate despite having to face more obstacles than men to gain the same recognition. She was instrumental in supporting her fellow female musicians, such as co-founding and serving as the first president of the Society of American Women Composers.
Tell us what winning the prize would mean to you personally.
Both my mom and my grandma are classical musicians, but had to put their career aside for family. Like Amy Beach, they faced obstacles in their performing careers. Yet, they have supported me on my musical journey so much and are a big part of the reason I am where I am today. Winning this prize and getting formal recognition would support me continuing the lineage of female classical musicians in my family. Doing so by playing a woman composer I admire celebrates not only my family's heritage but helps elevate women composers out of obscurity.
The prize money would also support my growth as a performing artist by helping cover the cost of classes and enabling me to attend prestigious music festivals and international music competitions, where I get to perform on major stages and get masterclasses from groundbreaking, world-class artists who inspire and encourage me to continue my journey. By meeting these artists, I get the chance to experience what a professional performing career can look like, something musicians like Amy Beach didn't have the chance to until her husband died. Because many women in the past didn't have the means or support necessary to take part in these kinds of events, it would be especially meaningful to take part in them as a woman myself.
Clara Dunne
From: St Paul, Minnesota
Title of work: Troubled Water
Name of composer: Margaret Bonds
Share your story of why you selected your piece and how it celebrates women in classical music.
It is no secret that classical music has not always been as inclusive as it is today, and as musicians, we know that there is still much work to be done. Troubled Water by Margaret Bonds celebrates the intersection of classical music and African American culture in a time when neither people of color nor women were necessarily accepted as part of the classical music community. Dating back hundreds of years, the exclusion of women from all areas of society restricted some of the most powerful and influential voices in music. We often hear stories of Clara Schumann and Amy Beach, of Fanny Mendelssohn and Cécile Chaminade. We hear about the barriers they broke in their time and their push for the rights to express themselves as female composers. What we hear less about are composers like Florence Price and Margaret Bonds, who pushed gender and racial boundaries and stretched the strict molds of classical music to fit their revolutionary ideas and sounds. It is important to celebrate all women in classical music, and the work I selected demonstrates just how incredible these women were. Troubled Water by Margaret Bonds blends the spiritual 'Wade in the Water' with traditional classical techniques to create a beautiful and powerful piece of music that reflects the time in history at which the piece was written.
Tell us what winning the prize would mean to you personally.
Winning this prize would greatly benefit my future as a musician. I am planning to study piano performance at Lawrence University this fall, and am looking forward to continuing my lifelong passion for music and piano through college and beyond. After college, I would like to fill my life with music even more than I do now, and work with other musicians to create art I am proud to share with the world. Winning this prize would make the future I'm dreaming of more accessible and even more exciting than it is. There are few greater joys for me than sharing music with someone and watching as it takes them over. Whether that is putting on a song for someone I think they'll like or playing a piece for my great-grandmother that she knows and loves, the look of interest, pride, or joy on their face is worth every minute of time and work it takes to find or prepare that music. In choosing this path and program, I am dedicating the 14 years I've spent on my craft to the joy it brings me and others to play and listen to music, and I am planning a life for myself that makes plenty of room for this joy.
Ariella Kim
From: St. Paul, Minnesota
Title of work: Nocturne for Violin and Piano
Name of composer: Ariella Kim
Share your story of why you selected your piece and how it celebrates women in classical music.
As a young composer, I wanted to showcase my own work and perform it to share my voice and creative identity as a woman in the classical music world. I have composed various pieces in the past, but this is the first time I have written one for myself to perform. Playing a piece from my imagination is a freeing experience: it allows me to have a unique vision for how the piece should sound and which characters should emerge, without being inhibited by past interpretations. My artistic style has been influenced by the many amazing women composers who have come before me, from Clara Schumann to Valerie Coleman to my own compositional mentor, Sarah Miller. Their music has shaped how I think about color and storytelling in many of my pieces. However, I find it disappointing that women artists, throughout history and even today, are often overlooked. This lack of representation is something that I want to challenge. By performing my own work, I hope not only to celebrate the legacy of women in classical music but also to continue it. My goal is to honor the women musicians who have come before me while also inspiring younger girls to pursue paths in composition and violin. This piece, 'Nocturne', is both a celebration and a statement: it is a way for me to speak up and be part of a new generation that pushes for greater recognition of female composers and their inclusion in the 'standard' repertoire.
Tell us what winning the prize would mean to you personally.
This prize would allow me to expand my performance opportunities in violin and to work on more complex composition projects. Specifically, I would love to work on interdisciplinary projects that combine visual artistry with original music. When I performed my own piece during the recording for this prize, I appreciated how performance further connects me to a work of music and offers creative ideas I can use compositionally in the future. I believe that, just as performance and composition go hand in hand, so do various other art forms. Creating something that could combine these arts, whether it's painting, animation, poetry, or music, would allow me to continue my passion for producing meaningful works in a deeper and broader way. This prize would allow me to invest in useful programs and equipment for these future projects, as well as encourage me to continue performing my own works on the violin and piano. It would also give me opportunities to study in intensive composition summer programs and to meet like-minded young women composers and mentors. Ultimately, winning this prize would empower me to grow as a performer and to connect with others who share my passion for both composition and performance.
Lorelei Schoenhard
From: St. Cloud, Minnesota
Title of work: Humoreska
Name of composer: Grazyna Bacewicz
Share your story of why you selected your piece and how it celebrates women in classical music.
Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) lived in a time of profound social, political, and musical change. After graduating from Warsaw Conservatory, she travelled to Paris, where she studied violin with Carl Flesch and composition with Nadia Boulanger. On returning to Poland, she served as concertmaster of the Polish Radio Orchestra. During the war, she performed in underground concerts and composed works that later established her reputation, when premiered following cessation of hostilities. At that point, she likely would have achieved greater international acclaim had she been situated on the other side of the Iron Curtain, but instead her successes placed her more modestly at the center of Polish musical life, under the scrutiny of the state authorities. Amidst competing demands for academic serialism in the West and nationalist anthems in the East, she wrote with her own unique voice, becoming one of the most prolific of all female composers.
As a violinist and chamber musician, I was first drawn to Grazyna Bacewicz's music through her violin concertos and string quartets. To me, these pieces are a perfect balance of the modern and the accessible, and a welcome change from the standard repertoire. Today, I have chosen to play "Humoreska" based on the similarity of its title to Dvorak's "Humoresque" (the latter being my mother's favorite piece from her three daughters' Suzuki years). Like its better-known Bohemian cousin, Bacewicz's "Humoreska" is a joy to play and a reminder that we should all find time to laugh, no matter the challenges we face.
Tell us what winning the prize would mean to you personally.
A musician must continually seek connections with her audience, her instrument, and herself. If I were to win the 2026 Karin Larson Prize, I would hope to further these connections with the help of each component of the award. Foremost, I would be grateful to know that my music had connected with MPR listeners. As my contest entry is a modern composition unlikely to be known to listeners before they hear my interpretation, I would hope that votes for my entry would represent affirmation of my ability to connect with an audience. Of course, for a violinist, an emotional connection with an audience is only possible because of a physical connection between bow and string. To improve this latter connection, I would be grateful to receive funds sufficient to purchase a more delicate bow, so that I might deliver more nuanced performances as I advance in my musical training. Finally, I would be grateful for the use of the MPR Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, so that I might hear myself play through high-fidelity recording and thereby improve my artistry. Strange as it might sound, a violinist never hears herself in the same way as her audience, as she is in direct contact with her instrument and her audience is not. I would love to better my sound with the self-analysis that accompanies a studio recording session. Thank you so much for a chance at this opportunity.
Lucy Zhang
From: Edina, Minnesota
Title of work: Violin Concerto No 1, Op 26, I. Vorspiel. Allegro moderato
Name of composer: Max Bruch
Share your story of why you selected your piece and how it celebrates women in classical music.
Great music lives not only through the notes on the page, but through the musicians who bring it to life. For my video submission, I chose the first movement of Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 by Max Bruch because this piece has challenged and inspired me with its emotional depth, dramatic energy, and lyrical expression. Although it was composed in the 19th century, how this concerto is experienced today continues to be shaped by performers who bring their own voices and perspectives to it.
I have been deeply inspired by the performances of Hilary Hahn, especially her interpretation of the opening theme. Her playing combines extraordinary clarity, expressive phrasing, and musical honesty, and watching her shaped how I think about tone, line, and storytelling in this concerto. In particular, I was moved by how she begins the work with a long, singing line in the G minor theme, shaping each note with intention and emotional nuance. Studying her performance helped me develop my own musical interpretation.
Women like Hilary Hahn continue to shape the classical music world, inspiring young musicians to pursue their own voices. Through my performance of this concerto, I hope to honor the artistry of women performers and celebrate their leadership in shaping how audiences experience classical music today.
Tell us what winning the prize would mean to you personally.
Winning the Karin Larson YourClassical Prize would mean a lot to me because it recognizes not just the hours I spend practicing, but the journey behind each note. Music has always been a big part of my life — it helps me focus, express myself, and connect with others in ways words can't. As the descendant of first-generation immigrants, I grew up in a family that deeply values music. My grandfather plays violin, and though my father never had the chance to study music as a child, he has always encouraged me to pursue it fully, which makes my own musical journey especially meaningful.
Learning Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 has pushed me to grow technically and emotionally, and studying Hilary Hahn's performance has shown me how a musician can tell a story with every phrase. Being the concertmaster of the GTCYS Philharmonic last season, when we performed Scheherazade, taught me how to lead, collaborate, and take responsibility for an ensemble. Balancing school, music, and volunteering can be challenging, but these experiences have shaped me into a more confident and thoughtful musician.
Winning this prize would encourage me to keep exploring music, continue developing my own voice, and honor the women who inspire me — teachers, role models, and performers like Hilary Hahn. It would remind me that every practice, performance, and leadership moment contributes to my growth, and that I can use my music to inspire others as so many women have inspired me.
Vote now: Emerging Artist
Who gets your vote for the Karin Larson YourClassical Prize Emerging Artist category? Make your selection for one performer below. Click once to select the person you’re voting for, and then click once on the Vote button. You may vote only once.
To vote for finalists in the Preprofessional Musician Category, visit this page.
Love the music?
Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.
Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.
YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.