The Semi-Finalists have been announced for this year’s ABC Young Performers Awards. The biggest turn out was from the violins, with four musicians – Anna Da Silva Chen, Riley Skevington, Emily Sun and Victoria Wong – making it through to the Semi-Finals, closely followed by the pianists, Robbin Reza, Tony Lee and Shuan Hern Lee. Cellists Benett Tsai and Waynne (Woo Seok) Kwon will also compete, alongside guitarist Andrey Lebedev, clarinettist Oliver Shermacher and violist Stefanie Farrands.

The competitors are no strangers to competition, with the list of Semi-Finalists a who’s who of Australian rising star musicians. For instance, in addition to taking out first prizes at competitions such as the Kendall National Violin Competition, the Fine Music Network Young Virtuoso Award, Australian National Youth Concerto Competition and Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s String Concerto Competition, violinist Anna Da Silva Chen is a veteran of the Young Performers Awards, making it to the Grand Finals in 2014 to perform with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

Violinist Emily Sun

Violinist Emily Sun has also made headlines in the past, winning first prize in The Bromsgrove International Musicians’ Competition and performing for...