Aves Trio Wins Gold Medal at 2025 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition
For Immediate Release
YOUNG CHAMBER MUSICIANS & MUSIC AT KOHL MANSION ANNOUNCE
AVES TRIO
WINS GOLD MEDAL AT 2025 FISCHOFF CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION AND HORSZOWSKI TRIO PRIZE FOR PIANO ENSEMBLE JUNIOR STRINGS; THIS IS THE 4th MEDAL WIN FOR BAY AREA’S YOUNG CHAMBER MUSICIANS
www.youngchambermusicians.org and www.musicatkohl.org
Burlingame, Calif. (May 16, 2025) — Young Chamber Musicians (YCM) and Music at Kohl Mansion (MAKM) today announced the highly talented Aves Trio has won the 2025 Junior String Division Gold Medal in the world renowned Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, now in its 52nd year. The winners were announced Sunday, May 11 following the spirited three-day competition that featured over 60 international music ensembles in both senior and junior divisions for strings and winds.
For the Aves Trio, the highly coveted Junior String Division Gold Medal win includes a $2,500 cash prize and an additional $500 cash prize for the prestigious Horszowski Trio Prize for Piano Ensemble Junior Strings; the latter includes an invitation to the Fort Worth-based Mimir Chamber Music Festival to work with the esteemed Horszowski Trio and the festival’s distinguished guest faculty.
At the Fischoff Competition, the Aves Trio won over the jury with their performance of:
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio in G Major, Op. 1 No. 2 – IV.; Finale – Presto movement;
- Bedřich Smetana, Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 15 - I.; Moderato assai movement;
- Johannes Brahms, Piano Trio No. 3, in C Minor, Op. 101; I. Allegro & III. Andante grazioso movements;
- Paul Schoenfield, Café Music for Piano Trio; III. Presto movementThe Aves Trio features brothers’ violinist Euisun Hong, 16 and cellist Huisun Hong, 18, who live in Pleasanton; and pianist Jacob Rockower, 16, who lives in Palo Alto. Concert pianist and coach Jeffrey LaDeur and YCM founder and director Susan Bates have co-coached the Aves Trio since August 2023 when the trio was formed.
This year’s gold medal represents the fourth win for the Bay Area’s Young Chamber Musicians organization at the Fischoff Competition, following their success with the Arcturus Trio in 2020 with the Bronze Medal; the Fervida Trio earning the Gold Medal in 2019; the Aveta Trio winning the Gold Medal in 2021; and the Aves Trio bringing home the Gold in 2025, in addition to winning the Horszowski Trio Prize.
Susan Bates, Young Chamber Musicians Founder and Director said, "On behalf of the entire Young Chamber Musicians community, I wish to extend my sincerest congratulations to the Aves Trio for their gold medal win at the 2025 Fischoff Competition. Jacob, Euisun and Huisun are each dedicated performers who formed in 2023 with the determination to evolve their musicianship as a chamber music team. Along the way, they found joy in the repertoire, learned to work together, matured their musical voice, and realized that playing chamber music is the perfect recipe for technical, musical and personal growth. Bravo Aves Trio!"
Music at Kohl Mansion Executive Director Patricia Kristof Moy expressed her excitement, stating, “We are absolutely thrilled to celebrate the fourth medal win for our resident Young Chamber Musicians. Their gold medal victory in the Junior String Division of the prestigious Fischoff Competition is a moment of immense pride for our organization, which has hosted the Young Chamber Musicians program since 2010. These three remarkable young musicians inspire great confidence in the future of chamber music, and we are eager to see each of them shine on the world's stages in the future.”
ABOUT YOUNG CHAMBER MUSICIANS
Founded in 2008, Young Chamber Musicians offers advanced chamber music instruction and exciting performance opportunities to string players and pianists ages 14-19. The program immerses its students in the chamber music repertoire to develop technical skill, encourage musical imagination, and experience the art of working with others. Through its collaboration with Music at Kohl Mansion and Mercy High School, Burlingame, the program fosters “learning through listening and performing” with a series of free public master classes, student performances and a unique weekly curriculum led by founder and director, violist Susan Bates, and a faculty of the Bay Area’s best chamber music performing artists. For more details, visit www.youngchambermusicians.org
ABOUT MUSIC AT KOHL MANSION
Inspired by the belief that the arts strengthen communities, Music at Kohl Mansion presents world-class chamber music concerts in the historic Kohl Mansion and music education in public schools on the San Francisco Peninsula. Outreach programs provide access to interactive musical experiences for diverse populations of all ages. Located on the Mercy High School campus in Burlingame, California, the Kohl Mansion is a jewel-like setting for fine music. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, this 1914 landmark features a gracious setting in the Elizabethan style Great Hall for intimate music on a grand scale. Hailed as an “acoustical gem” and one of the Bay Area’s “leading presenters of chamber music,” Music at Kohl Mansion recently concluded its 42nd international chamber music season. www.musicatkohl.org
ABOUT THE FISCHOFF COMPETITION
In 1973, James E. Fischoff and fellow members of the South Bend Chamber Music Society, sought an innovative way of encouraging young people to pursue chamber music study and performance – resulting in the idea to establish an annual competition. Today, still at home in South Bend, Indiana, the Fischoff Competition is the largest and longest running chamber music competition in the nation. Since its founding, more than 8,200 musicians have competed, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in music performance and education, including Indiana native and three-time Grammy Award-winner, violinist Joshua Bell; the genre defying contemporary ensemble Eighth Blackbird, and the Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet. The Fischoff distinguishes itself from all other music competitions by remaining true to its core mission: to encourage and educate young musicians in the discipline and expression of chamber music. Visit www.fischoff.org for more details.
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Note photo credit: Fumiko Yamaguchi