Young Concert Artists (YCA)

RADU RATOI, accordion

Praised for his originality, versatility, virtuosity in the Classical and contemporary repertoire, Radu is the winner of some of the most important accordion competitions. In 2024, he won the YCA “Susan Wadsworth” International auditions in New York, USA, one of the most important auditions worldwide for young instrumentalists. As a paramount gratification for his professional activity, he won the Leonnie Sonning Music Prize-Talent Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in Denmark. He also holds one of the most important Arts Awards in the Republic of Moldova, “Master in Arts”, offered by the president of the country, Maia Sandu, for outstanding achievements. In 2024, Radu was appointed as a soloist with The National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova. Playing solo and chamber music, having collaborations with various artists and orchestras, Radu is performing concerts worldwide, attracting the public with his musicality, technique and charisma.

Radu Ratoi (b. 1998) started accordion at the age of 6. Radu describes the accordion as “an instrument with almost unlimited possibilities”. His main goal is to prove to the world that the accordion is underestimated and has a place in all the musical genres. With his transcriptions of  Bach, Scarlatti, Rameau, Liszt and many more, he has reinvented and improved the accordion repertoire. Radu’s stage career started at 7 years old, in concerts and competitions. He attended  Alexei Starcea School of Arts in his hometown, Chisinau, in the Republic of Moldova, and later continued his undergraduate studies at the Centre of Excellence in Artistic Education Stefan Neaga, in the same city. While in Moldova, he started to participate in international competitions. At 18 years old, he won most of them in the Junior categories, such as Coupe Mondiale, Trophy Mondiale, Castelfidardo, etc. He won both in Classical Music and in Virtuoso/Entertainment Music categories, being the first the musician to do so. In 2018 he received the Excellence Diploma from the President of the Republic of Moldova. Next step on his path was The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, Denmark. Between 2018 and 2020, he won the 6 most important competitions in the world – Coupe Mondiale, Klinghenthal Accordion Competition, Trophy Mondiale, Arrasate Accordion Competition, PIF Castelfidardo, and the Moscow Accordion Competition.

In total, he has won more than 60 national and international awards. Radu recorded his accordion CD Greatest Organ Works arranged for Accordion in 2022, with pieces by Bach and Liszt. In 2023, Radu arranged and recorded 12 Transcendental Etudes by Liszt. As soloist he has performed in some of the most important concert halls in the world: Berlin Philharmonie, Radio Concert House Copenhagen, Victoria Concert Hall, Tivoli Hall Copenhagen, Merkin Hall New York, Harbin Concert Halland, among others.

Radu performs on a Pigini Nova-RR, specially designed for him.

LUN LI, violin

Violinist Lun Li is committed to creating thought-provoking, boundary-pushing concert experiences for contemporary audiences around the world. A native of Shanghai, China, he won First Prize at the 2021 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, also receiving the Paul A. Fish Memorial Prize, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society Prize, and the John French Violin Chair at YCA.

As a concerto soloist, Lun has appeared with the Tokyo Symphony, Kyoto Symphony, Osaka Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Riverside Symphony at Alice Tully Hall, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, and orchestras across the U.S., including the Kennett Square Symphony, Meridian Symphony, Brevard Philharmonic, Aiken Symphony, University of South Carolina Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, Colgate University Orchestra, Salina Symphony, and McCall Summer Festival Orchestra.

He made his New York recital debut at Merkin Concert Hall and his Washington, D.C. debut at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, both presented by Young Concert Artists. Recent recital and chamber music highlights include Alice Tully Hall, The Morgan Library & Museum, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Bay Chamber Concerts, Tippet Rise Art Center, Brookings Chamber Music Society, Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, and performances with the Jupiter Chamber Players. In the 2024–25 season, he was featured on the opening night of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall. A member of CMS’s prestigious Bowers Program, Lun has toured extensively with the Society, including a recent tour in China.

Internationally, he has appeared at Konzerthaus Berlin, Kulturpalast Dresden, and Wiener Konzerthaus, and has toured with the Curtis Institute of Music and Musicians from Marlboro, performing at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and the 92nd Street Y. A passionate chamber musician, he has also performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, Verbier Festival, Music@Menlo, Music from Angel Fire, Bard Music Festival, Newport Classical, Bay Chamber Concerts, and Tippet Rise.

In addition to his dedication to traditional repertoire, Lun explores innovative approaches that integrate theatrical and interdisciplinary elements. His solo violin recital projects “Death and Conception” and “A Long Walk Through the Night” reflect this creative trajectory. In March 2025 he collaborated with Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Du Yun on “Morning Mist, Night Thunder”, presented in partnership with the Asia Society in New York.

Lun holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and both a Master of Music and an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School, where he served as teaching assistant to Catherine Cho. His principal mentors include Ida Kavafian, Catherine Cho, and Joseph Lin.

Lun performs on the 1735 Stradivarius “Samazeuilh,” generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

RISA HOKAMURA, violin

Risa Hokamura began studying the violin at the age of three and, by ten, had captured top prizes in competitions throughout her native Japan. She gained international recognition at seventeen after winning the 2018 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, where she also received the Tannery Pond Concerts Prize, The Ruth Laredo Memorial Prize, and The Ronald A. Asherson Prize. That same year, she won the Silver Medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, performing with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under Leonard Slatkin.

Since then, Risa has appeared as concerto soloist with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, Kennett Symphony, The Apollo Orchestra, Muncie Symphony Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Kanagawa Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Kansai Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, and Sapporo Symphony. Last season she appeared as soloist with Symphonicity in Virginia Beach, and this season she will perform the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Aiken Symphony.

Her recital debuts include Merkin Hall in New York City, The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, D.C., and Kioi Hall in Tokyo, where she recently performed all six Ysaÿe Sonatas. She has also performed recitals at Ithaca College, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, The Morgan Library & Museum, Port Washington Library, Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, and University of Florida Performing Arts.

She has additionally performed chamber music at Music@Menlo, Clarion Concerts, Newport Classical, The Morgan Library & Museum, Chamber Music Lehigh Valley, BIG ARTS Sanibel Island, Arts at Abingdon, and Arts Council of Moore County. Upcoming YCA On Tour chamber engagements include the Salk Science & Music Series, the Kravis Center, Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Mobile Chamber Music, and Calgary Pro Musica.

A native of Japan, Risa studied at the Tokyo College of Music as an Honorary Scholarship student with Koichiro Harada, Mayuko Kamio, and Machie Oguri. She now studies at the Manhattan School of Music on full scholarship with Koichiro Harada and Lucie Robert, with additional studies under Cho-Liang Lin. She is a recipient of scholarships from the Ezoe Memorial Foundation and the Rohm Music Foundation, and is represented in Japan by Kajimoto.

Risa performs on the 1715 “Joachim” Stradivarius, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation, and the 1734 “Ames-Totenberg” Stradivarius, on loan from Ryuji Ueno and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative.

BENETT TSAI, cello

The music-making of Australian cellist Benett Tsai has been described as “electrifying…flawless freshness” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and “charismatic, heartfelt playing full of fluid intensity” (Sydney Arts Guide). Named a VC Artist on The Violin Channel, he gained recognition at the 2022 Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann in Berlin, where he received both the Third Prize and Special Prize for the Best Haydn Concerto as the youngest entrant. The following year, he joined the roster of Young Concert Artists for management upon winning the 2023 YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions in New York, becoming a YCA Jacobs Fellow and receiving The Stern Young Artist Award. His subsequent recital was listed as one of the best debuts in 2024 by New York Classical Review, and he was most recently selected for the 2025-26 Classeek Ambassador Programme based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Since his mainstage debut at the age of thirteen, Benett has performed actively as a soloist and chamber musician. He has appeared with orchestras such as the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Lahti, Kammerphilharmonie Metamorphosen Berlin, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy, and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. Conductors with whom he has collaborated include Esa-Pekka Salonen, Umberto Clerici, Joseph Bastian, Nicholas Milton, and Elizabeth Schulze.

Among other venues worldwide, Benett has been presented in recitals at The Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Berliner Philharmonie, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Kaufman Music Center (New York), City Recital Hall (Sydney), and Melbourne Recital Centre. He has also made appearances at the Verbier Festival, Rose Theater at Lincoln Center with Emanuel Ax, Musica Viva Australia, and the Morgan Library & Museum (New York). Notably, he was featured in the 2020 film, The Way Forward, where he played with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Highlights of the 25-26 season include a return to Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, in addition to further concerts with the Colgate University Orchestra, Classical Arts Society of Washington, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, and Classeek (Switzerland). Joining YCA on Tour, he will also perform chamber music across North America, with engagements at The Kennedy Center, Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Calgary ProMusica, UAB Alys Stephens Center, Ithaca College, and the Sarasota Artist Series Concerts.

Born in 2003, Benett began playing the cello at the age of five under the guidance of his uncle and teacher, Thomas Tsai. He currently studies with Clive Greensmith at The Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he holds a Bachelor of Music degree. In previous years, he also learned with Susan Blake and Li-Wei Qin. His other significant mentors include Ralph Kirshbaum, Steven Isserlis, and his pianist father, Joshua Tsai.

Benett plays on a 1719 Giuseppe Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ cello, on loan to him from a generous benefactor.