MEET FINALISTS

Meet the finalists of the 2026 San Francisco International Piano Competition—an exceptional group of young artists selected through a highly competitive process.

Artists Division (Age 18-35)

Alexander Agate, 31

Manhattan School of Music

Recent Competitions:
Grand Prize winner of the 2025 Thomas Hulbert International Piano Competition; Recording Prize winner at the 2024 Sicily International Piano Festival and Competition; top prize winner at the American International Paderewski and Dallas International Piano Competitions.

USA

Yusong Wu

China

Yale School of Music;

Recent Competitions:
Prize winner of the Segye Ilbo Music Competition, KCO Music Competition, The University of Texas at Austin Music Competition, Seoul Orchestra Competition, and Seoul Arts Music Competition; winner of the Hwaseong National Music Competition.

Chi-Jo Lee, 28

Chinese Taipei

Colburn Conservatory of Music

Recent Competitions:
Prize winner of the Wideman Piano Competition and The Odyssiad Festival and Competition; semi-finalist at The Gurwitz Competition; candidate at the ARD Competition.

Joshua Mhoon, 22

The Juilliard School

Recent Competitions:
Silver Medalist of the 2023 Nina Simone Piano Competition; top prize winner of the DePaul National Concerto Competition, Walgreens National Concerto Competition, and Emilio del Rosario Concerto Competition.

USA

Suryeon Noh, 32

Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig Hannover;

Recent Competitions:
HMT Leipzig Prize winner of the Oeiras International Piano Competition, Paula-Salomon-Lindberg Competition “Das Lied,” Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition, Livorno International Piano Competition, and Concours International de Chant-Piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger.

South Korea

Lynn Ye, 22

Curtis Institute of Music

Recent Competitions:
Laureate of the Melbourne International Piano Competition, Chengdu Beethoven International Piano Competition, Shanghai International Piano Competition, Pearl River-Heilmann International Piano Competition, Shenzhen International Piano Competition, and other major competitions.

China

Young Artists Division (Age 12-17)

Claire Chang, 17

USA

Recent Competitions:
First Prize winner of the Burlingame Music Competition, Pacific Musical Society & Foundation Competition, ENKOR International Music Competition, United States International Music Competition, and United States Open Music Competition; finalist at the Ettlingen International Piano Competition; top prizewinner at the International Grande Music Competition, and LA International Liszt Competition.

Yuncheng Chen, 12

Recent Competitions:
First Prize winner of the 2026 International Grande Music Competition and 2026 Kiwanis Music Festival; Gold Award winner at the 2025 Steinway Piano Competition; Second Prize winner of the 6th International Piano Competition & Festival “De Bach au Jazz”; Platinum Medalist at the 2025 Nobel-Artist International Music Competition.

China

Isabel Feng, 14

Recent Competitions:
First Prize and Chopin Prize winner of the MTNA National Junior Piano Competition; First Prize winner of the San Jose International Piano Competition; Grand Prize winner of the Xinghai Cup National Piano Competition; selected competitor for the 2026 Hilton Head International Piano Competition and the 2026 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition.

USA

David Gatien, 17

USA

Tongtong Liu, 17

USA

Recent Competitions:
Georgia State Winner of the 2024 MTNA Competition; First Prize winner of the Gulf Coast Steinway Competition, leading to a Carnegie Hall performance; First Place winner of the Hyatt Piano Competition and Atlanta Music Club Scholarship Competition; Honorable Mention recipient at the Emory Young Artists Competition.

Ryugo Yoshino, 16

Recent Competitions:
First Prize winner of the 2025 Japan Performers Competition and Japan Classical Music Competition; Second Prize winner of the Osaka International Music Competition; finalist at the Ettlingen International Piano Competition; Third Prize and Jury Special Award winner at the Ishikawa International Piano Competition.

Japan