From violinists to tubists, the state’s best of the best were honored and celebrated Thursday, May 22, 2025 at Bay Chamber Concerts & Music School.

The annual Young Stars of Maine program awarded prizes to music students between the ages of 12 and 25 who are standouts in both study and performance. Hailing from far-flung areas of the state, the winners represent the very best of Maine.

The program is designed to inspire musical and personal growth while giving participants a chance to connect with other young musicians. The award for each prize is $1000.

The opportunity is part of Bay Chamber’s 60-year tradition of uplifting young musicians through educational and performance opportunities. Previous award winners have gone on to perform professionally and earn advanced music degrees.

2025 Young Stars of Maine:

Annabel Garvan-Soto, violin: Annabel, 13, of Gardiner, has played violin for eight years through Pineland Suzuki School. In the past two years, she has played with a quartet that she describes as both fun and a means to hone her musical ability and grow with her fellows as an ensemble. Her instructor is Colin Wheatley, Orchestra Director for Waterville Public Schools and a faculty member at Bay Chamber

Erik Frey, piano: Erik has been studying piano for six years at the Portland Conservatory of Music. The freshman at Cape Elizabeth High School plays piano in his high school jazz band and tuba in his high school concert band and the Portland Youth Wind Ensemble. In his free time, Erik loves hanging out with his friends, swimming and sailing on high school teams, and beating his buddies at poker every Saturday night. 

Calista Post, violin: Calista is a freshman at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield. The 15-year-old has been playing violin for eight years through Pineland Suzuki School. Her string quartet has been coached by Colin Wheatley for the past two years and is one of her favorite groups. Calista says the ensemble has led to personal musical growth along with growth as a group. She is grateful that she gets to make music with friends.

Alden Gilg violin: Alden is a junior at Thornton Academy in Saco. His academic interests lie in musical theater, math, and sciences. He has been playing the violin for 11 years beginning at Pineland Suzuki School. He also enjoys playing oboe. Alden has been the concertmaster of the Portland Youth Symphony Orchestra for the past two years and also plays in a string trio with 240 Strings. He especially loves how music allows him to connect with people from different cultures. Alden plans to study music and engineering in college.

Ronan Sands, cello: Ronan is a homeschooled sophomore who has been playing cello for eight years. He has been featured on NPR’s From the Top Daily Joy and placed second in the last two years in the Maine High School Concerto Competition. In 2023, he was awarded the Young Stars of Maine’s Summer Cello prize and placed second in 2024 in the International Baroque Music competition for his work with Bach. Ronan studies music composition and attends the University of Maine’s Early College Program. He enjoys playing and composing for video games. 

Ava Trout, cello: Ava is a senior at Ecology Learning Center in Union. She began playing violin when she was nine, adding fiddle a couple of years later. But she got hooked on the cello.  Ava has played with ensembles for several years. They include Capital Strings, Pineland Fiddlers, Kennebec Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, and several chamber groups. Ava is taking a gap year before pursuing a degree in graphic design, and studies in music, musical theater, and film.

Kayleigh Tolley, voice: Kayleigh is a mezzo-soprano hailing from Waldoboro. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in Opera Performance at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She most recently performed as Dorabella in Boston Conservatory’s production of Così fan tutte and will be performing as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro this summer with Prague Summer Nights. Other recent credits include Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Nancy in Albert Herring, Fidalma in Il matrimonio segreto, and Zandra in the world premiere Alice Tierney. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she earned undergraduate degrees in voice performance and psychology.

Noah Smith, clarinet:  Noah began his journey studying clarinet at age nine at a conservatory in France. He will play principal clarinet at the 2025 Maine All State Music Festival later this month in May. He also won the Bangor Symphony Concerto Competition. He has performed as principal clarinet, principal oboe and soloist with the Kennebec Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra and has played alto saxophone at the Maine’s District II Jazz Festival. Noah was the principal bassoon, principal alto saxophone, and 2nd oboe at the MMEA District 2 band festivals. After graduation from Buckfield High School, Noah plans to study music education. 

Heath Kennedy, tuba: Heath hails from Cape Elizabeth. He is currently a third-year Education/Performance student at University of Maine, studying tuba. Heath has found competitive success in both local and national competitions, most notably receiving 2nd prize in the NERTEC Tuba Mock Orchestral competition. He advanced as an alternate for the 2024 Leonard Falcone International Tuba/Euphonium Festival’s Tuba Artist division. In his free time, Heath enjoys being in nature and likes to camp, fish, and hike. 

Carson Dunn, violin: Carson is a sophomore at Waterville Senior High School. She loves working with her quartet, which won the 2025 Young Stars of Maine’s Anna Bereziuk and Lindley Wood Prize for Ensemble Endeavors. She says Colin Wheatley has helped the quartet grow throughout its two-year journey. Carson is excited to see how she and her friends progress musically in the chamber space going forward.

Honorable Mention: Brandon Bercian, piano; Dakota Jones, alto-sax; Samuel Ivey, trumpet.