YCAT Announces Eight 2026 Finalists!

Multifaceted pianist Itamar Carmeli began his artistic journey as a child actor on the wooden stages of Tel Aviv’s major theaters, while simultaneously developing his musical voice as a pianist in both the classical repertoire and the city’s vibrant jazz scene. These early experiences shaped a unique creative path, defined by his insatiable curiosity and creativity. Based in Berlin, he has established himself as a versatile soloist, chamber musician, and composer.

He has performed across Europe and North America at venues including the Pierre Boulez Saal, the Konzerthaus Berlin, Ehrbar Saal Vienna, Beethoven Haus Bonn, Lockenhaus Festival, Mendelssohn Haus Leipzig, Musikdorf Ernen. Among the musicians he has collaborated with are Clara-Jumi Kang, Emmanuel Pahud, Ivan Monighetti and more.

Carmeli studies at the Kronberg Academy with Sir András Schiff and receives ongoing mentorship from Daniel Barenboim. He founded and directs "Momentum", a chamber music series at Kühlhaus Berlin.

Willard Carter began cello lessons at the age of four with Elizabeth Anderson. He joined Wells Cathedral School as a chorister at the age of eight and moved to the Purcell School in 2013 to study cello with Alexander Boyarsky. In 2016, he joined the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music for additional chamber music studies. In 2018, he began studying with Ivan Monighetti at the Escuela de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, in 2023, he was a student at the Barenboim–Said Akademie with Frans Helmerson and from 2026 he is studying with Antje Weithaas in Berlin.

Willard has played recitals at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Radio Classique Festival in Saint-Malo, Solsberg Festival and has performed on stages such as The Wigmore Hall, Buckingham Palace and Berlin Konzerthaus. Willard has performed and curated concerts at the Heidelberger Frühling Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and the Gstaad New Year Festival.

In November 2025 Willard won the VP Opus Bank Award in Liechtenstein.

Pianist, Milda Daunoraite is studying with Tessa Nicholson at Royal Academy of Music, where she holds a full-tuition Bicentenary scholarship. She’s recently become an artist for the Tillett Trust and is supported by The Munster Trust, Keyboard Charitable Trust, Hattori Foundation and SOS Talents Foundation – MS.

Her performances have been broadcast in over 40 countries via Mezzo TV, Radio Classique, and TV5 Monde. Milda has performed across Europe, including performances at the Wigmore Hall, QEH, Laeiszhalle-Elbphilharmonie, Palermo and Spoleto Festivals in Italy, Concertgebouw, UN Headquarters in Geneva, Biarritz Piano festival, Petworth Festival, Deal Music Festival, she regularly performs at Piano and Art concert series at Can Brut, Mallorca, etc. Upcoming performances include Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments with Edward Gardner in Duke’s Hall and with Joanna MacGregor and the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra. Her Performance of Bacevicius Piano Concerto No.4 with the LNSO was broadcast by Euroradio. A winner of numerous competitions, such as the V. Krainev Piano Competition and the Royal Academy of Music’s 2023 Sterndale Bennett Piano Prize, she has delivered acclaimed concerto and solo performances worldwide.

Pianist Callum McLachlan, finalist of the 18th Schumann Competition Zwickau and semi-finalist at both the Leeds and Santander International Piano Competitions, has been described as “a born Schumann player” with “a magical sense of colour and extraordinary technical prowess.” His performances at the Leeds were broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and Medici.tv, viewed by thousands worldwide. The Leeds described him as “continuing to captivate audiences with his profound musicality and virtuosic performances.”

Following his success there, he was the only British pianist selected for the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Gramophone magazine praised him for “the warmth and body of his gorgeous sonority,” with his first-round described as “luminescent, clear, virtuosic, and balanced.” He currently studies with Professor Kirill Gerstein at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. In the 26/27 season, he will embark on a recital tour of Japan and debut in Bridgewater Hall.

Ewan Millar is a prominent young oboist building a career in the UK. In 2020 Ewan won the woodwind final of BBC Young Musician, advancing to the Grand Final, and giving an “exemplary, richly shaded account” (The Guardian), of Navarro’s “Legacy” concerto with the BBC Philharmonic. Recently he won the coveted Gold Medal at the Royal Over-Seas League music competition 2025. As a result of these competitions he performs extensively around the UK as a solo and chamber musician.

Ewan has played principal oboe with the LPO, RPO, CBSO, SCO, BSO, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Aurora Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, and Birmingham Royal Ballet, and for a year over 2024-2025 was a member of award-winning wind quintet Lumas Winds. Ewan studied at Oxford University and the Royal Academy of Music, learning with Melanie Ragge and winning the Bicentennial Prize and Janet Craxton Memorial Prize. He is a Howarth Artist and plays on a Howarth XM.

Spanish accordionist Sofía Ros is emerging as one of the leading voices of her generation. In 2025 she was named BBC Radio Scotland Young Classical Musician of the Year after her solo debut with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Gourlay, performing Piazzolla’s Aconcagua at Glasgow City Halls. She has appeared with Nicola Benedetti at the Edinburgh International Festival and as soloist with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s orchestra.

Her seasons include UK and Spain recital tours, with appearances at Carnegie Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein. A prizewinner at the Trophée Mondial de l’Accordéon, she balances an international career with a strong commitment to outreach and education.

Born in the Canary Islands, she began at five and now studies in Glasgow with Djordje Gajic. She performs on a Pigini Sirius Compact bayan and is dedicated to expanding the classical accordion repertoire.

Born in Brussels in 2004, Pauline van der Rest began playing the violin at the age of six. She studied with Igor Tkatchouk and Boris Garlitsky, and is currently continuing her studies at the Kronberg Academy with Janine Jansen, where she also benefits from the mentorship of Gidon Kremer.

A laureate of several international competitions, she has performed in major venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, and the Moscow International House of Music. She has appeared as a soloist with ensembles including Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, and Kremerata Baltica, and is also deeply committed to chamber music, performing with renowned artists such as Gidon Kremer, Janine Jansen and Tabea Zimmermann.

Pauline currently plays a 1783 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin, generously loaned by a member of the Stretton Society.

Sarah Luisa Wurmer represents a contemporary, sonically open approach to zither art. Always in search of new sounds, she uses her diverse range of instruments to discover the ideal tone color for each program. Her artistic work is characterized by close collaborations with composers, as well as new arrangements of her own. The student at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich combines early music with curiosity for new sounds, interdisciplinary formats, and international influences.

Study visits have taken her to Ulaanbaatar / Mongolia and to Vienna. She has received multiple awards for her artistic work, most recently as the 2025 Fanny Mendelssohn Förderpreis recipient. That same year saw the release of her debut album „intimacy“, which impressively documents her search for new sonic spaces of the zither. Most recently, she was selected as a finalist for the Musikpreis der Deutschen Wirtschaft and will perform as a soloist with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin.