Three violinists, a trio and a quartet are among this year’s winners
Charlotte White’s Salon de Virtuosi has announced the career grant recipients for the 2026–27 season, prominently featuring string players. Each winner received $5,000.
This year’s recipients are Bulgarian–Japanese violinist Julia Angelov, US violinist Christina Nam and Japanese violinist Koshiro Takeuchi; the Boston-based Trio Gaia and New York City-based Terra Quartet; as well as Israeli pianist Yuval Chen.
Angelov is currently studying with Julia Fischer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and has attended notable festivals including the Kronberg Academy Masterclasses, IMS Prussia Cove, the Heifetz International Music Institute and the Carl Flesch Akadmie.
Among her accolades, she has received the Pablo Casal Festival’s Milka Violin Prize, the Verao Classico Festival’s Verao Classico Award and has won the Music Teachers National Association’s National Strings Competition. She was also a semi-finalist in the Young Concert Artists (YCA) Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and the Windsor Festival International Strings Competition.
Nam has attended the Juilliard School on a full scholarship from the Green Foundation Fellowship, studying with Catherine Cho and Donald Weilerstein. She was the winner of the 2026 Ysaÿe International Music Competition senior division, was a recipient of the Juilliard School’s Peter Menin Prize and a prizewinner at the 2017 Cooper International Violin Competition.
In 2025 she was announced as a Young Artist for the Center for Musical Excellence and as a laureate of the YCA Susan Wadsworth International Auditions. Nam has participated in festivals including the Perlman Music Program, Meadowmount School of Music, Aspen Music Festival and the Verbier Festival Academy where she was the recipient of the 2025 Prix Reyl award.
Takeuchi is a student of the Manhattan School of Music and the Tokyo College of Music. He studies with Koichiro Harada, Lucie Robert and Mayuko Kamio. He recently won the first prize at the 2026 Concours Musical International de Montréal, and has previously won first prize at the 2025 Ion Voicu International Violin Competition and third prize at the 2023 Long-Thibaud International Music Competition.
Trio Gaia was established in 2018 while its members were studying at New England Conservatory (NEC) and comprises US violinist Grant Houston, US cellist Yi-Mei Templeman and Romanian–Hungarian pianist Alexa Stier. It has won the first prize at the WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition and was a prizewinner at the Premio Trio di Trieste International Music Competition, the Plowman National Chamber Music Competition and the Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition.
It has also held residences including Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society, the Virginia Arts Festival, PRIZM International Music Festival, the Panama Jazz Festival, and served as Community Performance & Partnership fellows at NEC.
The Terra Quartet comprises Korean–Australian violinist Harriet Langley, US violinist Amelia Dietrich, Taiwanese violist Chih-Ta Chen, and US–Taiwanese cellist Audrey Chen. Among its accomplishments, the Terra Quartet has won the first prize at the 2025 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition, second prize at the 2025 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition and the 2023 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, and third prize at the 2023 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition.
It has served as ensemble-in-residence for the Yale School of Music and the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, as well as the leadership ensemble for Project Music Heals Us Arts. Upcoming engagements for the quartet include residences at the Kaufman Music Center and the University of South Carolina.
Angelov, Nam and Takeuchi will perform at the salon’s Gala Awards Concert on 8 October, alongside previous recipients the Renaissance Quartet and violinist Nathan Meltzer, while the Terra Quartet and Trio Gaia will appear later in the season.
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