2026 Buckeye winners
Elementary Piano:
Winner: Olivia Chan (teacher: Nina Polonsky)
Alternate: Grace Li (teacher: Sean Schulze)
Honorable Mention: Erik Dong (teacher: Amy Sauriol)
Junior Piano:
Winner: Hudson Seerden (teacher: Kathleen Sadoff)
Alternate: Alice Zheng (teacher: Benita Leung)
Honorable Mention: Khloe Wang (teacher: Ella Karasik)
Senior Piano:
Winner: Melani Klapper (teacher: Nina Polonsky)
Alternate: Michael Zhang (teacher: Mayumi Kikuchi)
Honorable Mention: John Zhan (teacher: Benita Leung)
Elementary Strings:
Winner: Daniel Xu (teachers: Kurt Sassmanshaus and Andrii Isakov)
Alternate: Joji Lewicki (teacher: Koko Watanabe)
Honorable Mention: Stella Dai (teacher: Rebecca Konow)
Junior Strings:
Winner: Eliot Brown (teacher: Sarah Kim)
Senior Strings:
Winner: Avery Li (teacher: Gyusun Han)
Alternate: Jenna Zhang (teacher: Hong Cheng)
Honorable Mention: Viggo Narvaez (teacher: Rebecca Konow)
2026 OhioMTA State Buckeye Auditions
Registration begins on January 1, 2026 and closes on March 1, 2026.
Students competing in the southwest district have an application deadline of february 11, 2026
Each spring, highly motivated students in piano, string, voice, and winds compete at the District level. One winner in each participating category is selected to perform as a finalist in the state-level Buckeye Audition. Winners earn cash prizes.
2026 Buckeye Auditions Chair: Dr. Frank Huang (huangfd@miamioh.edu)