CSMA is excited to celebrate our 2026-2027 Merit Scholars! The Merit Scholars Program supports students who show strong dedication to their craft and are looking to take their musical studies to a deeper level.
This year, we are proud to honor 41 Merit Scholars-the largest group since 2022! These students represent a wide range of musical disciplines, including piano, voice, violin, cello, guitar, flute, saxophone, and clarinet.
Row 5 (Back Row): Matthew Gu (saxophone), Austin Ke (voice), Vladimir Firsov (violin), Yixuan M. (guitar), Yihao Marcus Wong (piano), Curtis W. (piano), Andrew Wang (cello), Christopher Zhao (guitar), Nozomu Tamura (violin)
Row 4: Aria L. (piano), Benjamin Ye (violin), Anastasia G. (piano), Grace Ahn (clarinet), Sienna Szeto (piano), Heerod Amini (piano), Kipling Song (saxophone), Clement Lee (piano), Pavit Kohli (voice), Elena Masuda (flute)
Row 3: Joji Noguchi (piano), Amanda Wang (piano), Suri Lan (piano), Rishik Raman (piano), Yuting Kuo (piano), Chi-Hsia Sharleen Ho (flute), Arthur Chen (voice), Yuma Hisada (piano), Rebecca Ding (piano), Alexis Leo (cello)
Row 2: Shire Zhang (piano), Mina L. (cello), Geyao Liu (cello), Luca Ma (cello), Crystal Yu (piano), Dhara Murthy (voice), Krrish Gayash (piano), Eleanor Shen (voice), Lucas Goh (piano)
Row 1 (Front Row): Alex L. (piano), Rosalyn Chu (piano)
Not Pictured: Victor Zhang (piano)
Upcoming Concert Dates
Join us for our Community Concerts at Tateuchi Hall highlighting Merit Scholar ensembles and select solo performances:
Merit Scholars Winter Concert: Friday, December 11, 2026, 7:30-8:30 PM
(Reserve tickets here)
Merit Scholars Spring Concert: Friday, May 21, 2027, 7:30-8:30 PM
(Reservation link coming soon)
Reintroducing Associate Merit Scholars & Student Committee
This year, CSMA is thrilled to reintroduce the Associate Merit Scholars step! This new step introduces less-experienced students to the program and helps them learn alongside our Level A, B, and C Merit Scholars. While not “officially” Merit Scholars yet, our Associate Merit Scholars are invited to attend all workshops, masterclasses, and concerts as audience members to get a sense of what it means to be a Merit Scholar.
We are also excited to recognize our Merit Scholar Student Committee, led this year by Committee President Anastasia G. and Vice President Vladimir Firsov.
Congratulations to all of our scholars!
