Meet Our 2026 Young Artists

A young woman with long, dark hair smiles while holding a violin against a gray background.

Shang-Ting Chang

Violinist Shang-Ting Chang was born in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. She is currently a doctoral student at Stony Brook University, where she studies violin with Philip Setzer, Arnaud Sussmann, and Hagai Shaham. She previously studied with Eugene Drucker at the Manhattan School of Music and with Shih-Kai Lin at Taipei National University of the Arts.

An active orchestral and chamber musician, Shang-Ting has performed at festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute and Festival, and Taipei Music Academy and Festival. Her honors include First Prize in the National Student Chamber Music Competition, Second Prize in the 15th Violin Competition of the Academy of Taiwan Strings, and the Lillian Fuchs Competition for Chamber Music Piano Trio.

Young woman with long brown hair, wearing a blue sleeveless top, holding a violin in an outdoor setting with green foliage in the background.

Bianca Ciubancan

Bianca Ciubancan is currently enrolled in the five-year dual degree program between Harvard College and the New England Conservatory, studying under the guidance of Paul Biss. She is concertmaster of the Harvard RadcliCe Orchestra, and most recently won the Bach Society Orchestra concerto competition.
Prior to beginning her undergraduate studies, she served as concertmaster of the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra for five years, in addition, winning their concerto competition to perform solo with both the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and Northwest Symphony Orchestra. She has performed on WFMT’s Introductions and multiple times on NPR’s From the Top, both in Beverly Hills and virtual performances. She has participated in many competitions, having garnered top prizes in the DePaul National Concerto Competition, Walgreens National Concerto Competition, and YoungArts National Competition. She was a prizewinner at the Kloster Schöntal International Violin Competition and the Cooper International Violin Competition, where she received the Special Prize for Best Bach, in addition to winning first prize at the International Grumiaux Violin Competition.

A young woman with long dark hair smiling and holding a violin, wearing a strapless dress with floral patterns.

Amy Goto

Amy Goto was born in 2004 in South Carolina. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music at the Yale School of Music under Paul Watkins, after earning her bachelor’s degree with honors from the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP) in 2024. Amy won the AENA Special Prize (Second Prize) at the 2022 Pablo Casals International Award and the Prize for the Best Performance of the Commissioned Work at the 2025 International Musical Competition “Dr. Luis Sigall.” She attended the Verbier Festival Academy as a soloist in 2022 and was the youngest member of Gautier Capuçon’s Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle at the Fondation Louis Vuitton from 2020 to 2022. Amy performs on a cello made by Ferdinando Alberti (c. 1750), generously loaned by Christophe Landon, and is endorsed by Thomastik-Infeld Vienna.

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Lazar Kaminsky

Boston based cellist Lazar Kaminsky has performed around the world as a chamber/orchestral musician and soloist. Lazar holds the position of principal cellist of the Symphony Pro Musica Orchestra, conducted by Mark Churchill, and has served as guest principal cellist of the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra. Some of Lazar’s most notable awards include first prize and special prize at the International New York Solo Competition, and grand prize at the Fidelity Investments Young Artist Competition. Some of his major solo appearances include performances of Elgar's Cello Concerto with the Concord Orchestra, Saint-Saens' Cello Concerto No. 1 with the AIMS Festival Orchestra, and a performance of Tchaikovsky's Pezzo Capriccioso with the Boston Pops.
n 2024 he attended and performed at the Sitka International Cello Seminar and Festival in Sitka, Alaska, directed by cellist Zuill Bailey, as a student fellow. Lazar's previous teachers include Nancy Hair and Lluis Claret. He currently studies at the New England Conservatory with Professor Julie Albers.

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Ho Fei Ng

Ho Fei Ng is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in viola at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, studying with Ivo Jan Van der Werff. He is on staff as a teacher of record and teaches music theory to Rice students. Before his Doctoral studies, he studied with George Taylor at the Eastman School of Music and with Carol Rodland at The Juilliard School. Alongside his studies, he is actively involved in contemporary composition projects and performances, including appearances at Lincoln Center's David Rubenstein Atrium and the Wortham Theatre at Rice. He held principal positions in ensembles including The Juilliard Orchestra, the Rice Chamber Symphony, Symphony in C (NJ), and the Seocho Philharmonia. He has participated in summer festivals such as Bowdoin, Chautauqua, Music Academy of the West, and Sarasota. He was awarded the Robert Oppelt Prize at Eastman for outstanding achievement among violists.