Classic FM’s Rising Stars 2026: celebrating 30 inspiring classical musicians…

Marc André – double bass

In 2025, the 23-year-old French musician became the first double bassist in history to sign an exclusive contract with a major classical label, when he signed with Warner Classics. His debut album will be released this spring, representing an exciting step in elevating the double bass as a solo instrument.

Julien Beautemps – accordion

Known for his virtuosity and clever arrangements for the accordion, the French 26-year-old has reimagined major works from Rhapsody in Blue to Ravel’s Boléro for accordion and guitar. His 2026 album Symphonics features his own original works, as well as an accordion-led rendition of Mozart’s Requiem.

Rosie Bennet – guitar

British-born, Belgium-based guitarist Rosie Bennet, 29, received a Yehudi Menuhin School scholarship funded by The Rolling Stones. Today, she is preparing to release her highly anticipated debut album on Sony Classical. Alongside performing, she also hosts the acclaimed podcast ‘Fret Not’, featuring guests including Sir Brian May, who praised her tone as “the best sound I’ve ever heard on nylon strings”.

Yibai Chen – cello

Described by acclaimed violinist Daniel Hope as a “tremendous talent”, the 25-year-old Berlin-based cellist gained international recognition through his success at the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition. He has also taken home major prizes at the George Enescu and Tchaikovsky Cello Competitions, where he was the youngest participant in 2019.

Bryan Cheng – cello

Based in Berlin, the 28-year-old Canadian cellist is the only musician in 40 years to win prizes at both the Queen Elisabeth and Geneva International Music Competitions. Cheng is also the 2023 recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Virginia Parker Prize, the nation’s highest honour for young musicians. In 2025-26, he makes a series of debuts including with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Sir András Schiff.

Emmanuel Fonoti Fuimaono – tenor

The 28-year-old Samoan tenor has taken home major prizes in Australia and New Zealand, and is on this season’s Jette Parker Artists Programme for star young singers at the Royal Opera. During the 2025-26 season in Covent Garden, he performs as Pang in Turandot, Borsa in Rigoletto, First Philistine in Samson et Dalila, and covers Rodolfo in La bohème.

Lukas Hasler – organ

One of today’s most influential organists, Lukas Hasler became the first classical musician to perform in Lviv after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, presenting benefit concerts in support of victims in 2022. He also founded a global project ‘Organ For Planet’, linking concerts with social awareness. The 29-year-old Austrian is also pursuing a doctorate at the University of Southern California.

Lucie Horsch – recorder

A leading voice for her instrument, 27-year-old Dutch recorder virtuoso Lucie Horsch has evolved from a child prodigy to a major Baroque specialist – while expanding contemporary recorder repertoire. An exclusive Decca Classics artist, her recordings from Vivaldi and Baroque Journey to Origins have earned multiple awards.

Elizaveta Ivanova – flute

Winner of the 77th Concours de Genève, the 29-year-old Estonian flautist has been Associate Principal Flute of Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra since 2022, following the same position with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. Ivanova performs internationally as both soloist and chamber musician with orchestras such as the Frankfurter Philharmonie.

Deepa Johnny – mezzo soprano

One of opera’s most exciting young voices, with a rich vocal and dramatic depth, 28-year-old Omani-born mezzo Deepa Johnny has performed major opera roles including Rosina in The Barber of Seville at Opéra de Lille and Dorabella in Così fan tutte at Opéra national de Lyon. Her early breakthrough came with a critically acclaimed portrayal of Carmen at Opéra de Rouen Normandie.

Braimah Kanneh-Mason – violin

The second eldest of the extraordinary Kanneh-Mason siblings, the 27-year-old British violinist appears regularly as both a soloist and chamber musician, having performed concertos with the Bournemouth Symphony and London Philharmonic Orchestras. He performed at Classic FM Live in 2022, delivering an emotive rendition of Schindler’s List at the Royal Albert Hall, and at Classic FM’s Carols by Candlelight the following year.

Amelia Lewis – trombone

A graduate of London’s Royal Academy of Music, the 23-year-old British trombonist and vocalist grew up performing in brass bands and choirs in West Yorkshire – an upbringing that has shaped her wide-reaching solo, orchestral and jazz repertoire today. Since October 2025, she has been studying for a master’s at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover supported by the RPS Isserlis Scholarship.

Hyun Jae Lim – violin

28-year-old South Korean violinist Hyun Jae Lim is currently pursuing her master’s at the Curtis Institute under leading violinist Midori, having overcome a four-year hiatus following a major accident in 2020. Since her comeback, she has been a semifinalist at the Isang Yun (2024) and Sibelius (2025) Competitions, and won first prizes at the Seoul International Music Competition (2025) and Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (2026).

Chi Yuan Lin – conductor

Born in Taoyuan, Taiwan, Lin is a conductor at the Opera Center of Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first Taiwanese artist in the program, and is music director of the Avanti Orchestra in Washington, D.C. Alongside her performing career, Lin is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting at Peabody Institute under Marin Alsop and Joseph Young.

Sophia Liu – piano

The 18-year-old Chinese-Canadian piano prodigy has been praised for her “supernaturally fluid” touch. She performs with leading orchestras including the Vancouver Symphony and Calgary Philharmonic, and in October 2025, Liu released her debut studio album featuring Liszt’s Réminiscences de Norma and Chopin’s Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise.

Charlie Lovell-Jones – violin

The critically acclaimed concertmaster of the Sinfonia of London under John Wilson, this 27-year-old Welsh violinist is also one of the most promising soloists of his generation. Having debuted at the Royal Festival Hall at age 15, Lovell-Jones has since performed with major orchestras worldwide, and has recorded William Walton’s and Ruth Gipps’ Violin Concertos for Chandos Records, to critical acclaim.

Samrat Majumder – guitar

The 27-year-old Scottish-Indian classical guitarist is an ambassador for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and co-founder of the Classical Guitar Reach Foundation of India, mentoring young Indian guitarists. In 2025, he was named the inaugural YCAT 40th Anniversary Artist and became a joint YCAT-Concert Artists Guild (USA) Artist.

Alexander Malofeev – piano

The 25-year-old Russian pianist is recognised as a “genius” for his technical mastery and musical maturity, first gaining international attention at 13 by winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. He has worked with top conductors including Riccardo Chailly, who first saw Malofeev perform when he was 14 and declared he was “amazed” by his talent.

Michal Oren – conductor

A 28-year-old, award-winning conductor from Tel Aviv, Oren is a current semi-finalist for the 2026 Concours de Genève Conducting Competition, Opera North’s former Female Conductor Trainee, and was on the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Women Conductors’ Programme. She also founded a museum chamber orchestra in Israel, presenting musical performances inspired by visual art.

Petar Pejčić – cello

A graduate of the Kronberg Academy, the 24-year-old Serbian-born cellist is a rising international talent. Winner of the 2025 YCAT International Auditions and named an ECHO Rising Star 2026–27, he has already performed at major venues including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

Matthew Quinn – conductor

Currently Chorus Director at English National Opera, the dynamic 27-year-old Irish conductor is also Musical Director of Cappella Caeciliana and the London Youth Chamber Choir. Specialising in new music, Quinn has premiered several works and is a great advocate for music education, conducting for the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain and Ulster Youth Orchestra.

Jazmine Saunders – soprano

Praised for her luminous tone, the 27-year-old American soprano is in her second year of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, performing as Clara in Porgy and Bess and covering Lisa in La sonnambula. Versatile across operatic and recital repertoire, she recently made her Met Opera debut as Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro, and performed soprano solos in Mozart’s Requiem and Bach’s Magnificat.

Aristo Sham – piano

The Hong Kong-born pianist won the gold medal and audience award at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, earning international acclaim and widespread media attention. Sham has performed with major orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, appeared in the Channel 4 documentary The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies (2009), and performed for The King.

Camden Stewart – piano

Camden Stewart is a 22-year-old British composer, pianist, and operatic tenor blending minimalist piano with classical tenor lines for a cinematic sound. A former member of the Libera boys choir, he draws on choral traditions, classical technique, and modern production in his sound. Stewart produces and performs his own work, including his recent album Transcendence, reaching millions online.

Read more: Meet St Pancras station’s viral piano star who began as a boy soprano

Sarah Strohm – viola

Aged 20, Swiss-born violist Sarah Strohm has already achieved First Prize at the 2025 Concours de Genève and 2nd Prize at the 2021 Johannes Brahms Competition. She regularly appears in recitals, festivals and competitions across Switzerland and internationally, including the Swiss Youth Competition and Tertis Competition in the UK.

Eunike Tanzil – piano, composer

Based in LA and signed to Deutsche Grammophon, 27-year-old Indonesian pianist and composer Eunike Tanzil is best known online for her viral ‘Hum Me a Melody’ series. She has had her music performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra and LA Philharmonic, has contributed to major film scores including The Addams Family 2, has collaborated with artists from Ray Chen to Laufey, and was recently invited to compose Samsung’s new ringtone.

Polina Tarasenko – trombone

Born in Ukraine, 25-year-old Polina Tarasenko is Principal Trombone of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and a prize winner of several international competitions such as the ARD Competition and the International Aeolus Wind Competition. As a soloist she has performed in concert halls from the Philharmonie Luxemburg to the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and has performed as a chamber musician in festivals across Europe and Canada.

Elena Villalón – soprano

A native of Austin, Texas, 29-year-old Cuban American soprano Elena Villalón is one of opera’s most exciting rising sopranos. In 2025-26, she makes several major debuts including roles at the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne Festival, having already performed with the Metropolitan Opera and at Carnegie Hall, as well as with leading orchestras from the Boston Symphony to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Giovanni Andrea Zanon – violin

Giovanni Andrea Zanon picked up the violin aged two and became the youngest violinist ever to be admitted to an Italian state conservatoire – at just four years old. In 2021, he became Artistic Director of Teatro Petrarca and the Fondazione Guido d’Arezzo in Tuscany. The following year, he represented Italy at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony.

Sharon Zhou – violin

A versatile violin soloist, chamber musician, composer and prize-winning competition performer, the 21-year-old British musician made her concerto debut at age 14 with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. An active advocate for new music, she composes her own cadenzas, premiered her violin-and-piano work Prima o poi, collaborates with composers, and performs regularly with the Fiora Quartet and Espresso Trio.