The St. Louis Civic Orchestra is delighted to announce the winners of the 2024-2025 Florence Frager Young Artist Competition, who will showcase their exceptional talents at our upcoming concert on April 11, 2025, at the Washington University 560 Music Center in University City, St. Louis, MO. This concert is free to attend, offering the community a wonderful opportunity to experience these rising stars.
Meet the Winners:
1st Place: Sam Wenger-Stickel is a junior at Westminster Christian Academy where he plays in the school orchestra. A participant in the Community Music School Preparatory Program at Webster University since 2021, he has played in Missouri All-State Orchestra since 2023 and became Principal Second Violin in 2024.
In recent seasons, he won both the Rising Talents Young Artists Concerto Competition (Town & Country Symphony Orchestra) and Stars of Tomorrow Competition (Philharmonic Society of Belleville) and was selected a Rader Young Artist of the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis.
Recipient of top ratings at Missouri State Solo and Ensemble Music Festival for three years, he was also the winner of UMSL’s Young Artist Competition and was First Place Runner-Up in Marie Stillwell Young Artists’ Competition (Alton Symphony Orchestra).
Last summer Sam participated in the Arianna Chamber Music Festival, Credo Festival, and Bowdoin International Music Festival where he studied with Kurt Sassmannshaus. In previous summers he has attended Center Stage Strings (University of Michigan), Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and Heartland Chamber Music Festival.
2nd Place: Anya Akhmadullina, a senior at Hickman High School in Columbia, MO, started playing violin and piano at the age of four and has won prizes at the MMTA Competition for the past eleven years on both instruments.
In 2023, Anya was chosen Concertmaster of the Missouri All-State Orchestra and performed in the orchestra at the Musica Mundi Festival in Belgium. She has been a member of the first violin section of the St. Louis Youth Orchestra for the past two years.
In 2024, Anya was selected to participate in the National Youth Orchestra of the USA (NYO-USA) under the direction of Marin Alsop, performing in Carnegie Hall and on tour in South America. Anya was selected for NYO-USA 2025 and will perform on its South Asian tour under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda.
3rd Place: Asher Koh, 17-year-old Parkway Central High School senior, started violin at age three (now a student of Winifred Crock) and piano at age five (now a student of Vera Parkin).
In 2021, Asher joined the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and has been Co-Concertmaster since 2022, the same year he joined the Missouri All-State Orchestra and won St. Charles Community College’s Young Artist Competition.
In 2023, he was runner-up in University City Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition and received Honorable Mention in MTNA Senior Piano Competition.
In 2024, he won the Town and Country Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, participated in Center Stage Strings (University of Michigan), Credo Festival (Chicago), won Artist Presentation Society/Community Music School Competition, and was named a Rader Young Artist with the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis on both violin and piano.
Honorable Mention: A violin student of Pavel Ilyashov, Eric Chen is a junior at Marquette High School. He has won several concerto competitions with local orchestras and received many musical awards. He has been a member of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra for four years and for the past two, has been Co-Principal of the second violin section.
Join us on April 11th as these exceptional young musicians perform with the St. Louis Civic Orchestra, showcasing their talent and dedication to the art of classical music. This concert promises to be a memorable event, celebrating the future of orchestral music in our community.
Friday April 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Gioachino Rossini – Overture to La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie)
Winners of the Florence Frager Young Artist Competition:
1st Place: Sam Wenger-Stickel – Barber Violin Concerto Mvt. 1
2nd Place: Anya Akhmadullina – Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1, Mvt. 1
3rd Place: Asher Koh – Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2, Mvt. 1
Georges Bizet – Symphony No. 1
Washington University 560 Music Center
560 Trinity Ave
University City, MO 63130
For more information about the concert and the St. Louis Civic Orchestra, please visit our website at www.stlco.org
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