Vienna-born Norah Gruber is an eighth-grade visual arts major at CAPA. She has studied with Professor Luz Manriquez at Carnegie Mellon University since she was seven years old. She spent 2024 in Hamburg where she studied with Moisés Mattos and participated in a master class with the piano duo Hans-Peter and Volker Stenzl. Norah is a Young Artist in the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania program through which she performs in the Heinz Hall Lobby and has played in master classes with Matei Varga and Melody Quah. She has won awards in the Pittsburgh International Piano Competition and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. Norah enjoys improvising and playing chamber music with her family and friends, as well as reading, writing and baking. Her art has been shown at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, Pittsburgh’s City Hall and the Carnegie Museum of Art.
AJ Schmidt, a private student of Dan Parasky at Parasky Flute Studios, is a junior at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, PA. AJ has also worked with Austin Brown, Megan Ensor, and Kelly Zimba-Lukić. He is a three year member of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. AJ earned the piccolo seat for the ’23-’24 PMEA All State Band. He is a previous winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society’s Young Artist Competition on piccolo (2024), as well as in a small ensemble (2023). Additionally, he has won the Woodbridge Flute Choir Concerto Competition, the Central Ohio Flute Association Junior and Senior divisions, as well as several other regional competitions. AJ plans to move on to major in flute performance after he graduates high school with hopes of earning a chair in a major symphony orchestra.
Karin Hoppo is currently a junior at the North Allegheny Senior High School. She studies violin with Justine Campagna of the PSO. She serves as the concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra. Her recent accomplishments include winning the Pittsburgh Philharmonic Concerto Competition and being a finalist of the Osaka International Music Competition.
Evan Park Evan Park is a junior at Winchester Thurston, and began his studies on the piano at the age of five. A student of Carnegie Mellon School of Music professor Luz Manriquez, Evan has achieved numerous First Place honors, including in the Carmel Klavier International (contemporary composer), Lois Streator/Lois Smith Memorial Award, Pittsburgh Piano Teachers Association Advanced Honors Awards, and Pittsburgh International Piano competitions. He was also named Outstanding Artist (2024) by the Melanie Schmidt Memorial Fund. In summer 2024, he attended masterclasses and performed at the Vienna International Pianist Academy in Vienna, Austria. Most recently (2025), he was selected to participate in the Duquesne University Emerging Musicians Program, offering him the opportunity to receive lessons from Dr. Kevin Sun.
A proud member of the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania (SSWPA) since the age of nine, Evan has been honored to perform annually in the Heinz Hall lobby prior to concerts. In the past two years, he has taken the initiative to share music with the community by organizing SSWPA young artists to perform at local senior residences.
Outside of the music world, Evan is a Chess International Master and a national and Pennsylvania scholastic champion. His competitive chess career has taken him to various countries and cities across the United States, where he has embraced opportunities to explore diverse cultures. Committed to serving both globally and locally, Evan has been coaching chess remotely at a community school in Nairobi, Kenya, since 2022, and at his high school in Pittsburgh since 2023. In addition, Evan has a deep passion for literature and writing and has won Gold Key and Honorable Mention awards in the Scholastic Writing and Art Competition over the years.
The Montgomery String Quartet includes Karin Hoppo (Junior, North Allegheny), Shuma Hoppo (Freshman, North Allegheny), Ellie Kim (Junior, North Hills), and Greta Coleman (Junior, Mt. Lebanon). The Montgomery Quartet was formed in 2024 and is coached by Principal Second violinist of the PSO, Jeremy Black. They won the 2024-2025 season Montgomery Fellowship award, receiving coachings from Jeremy Black.
