2021 Winner of the Youth Concerto Competition and Jeanne Marvin Phillips Prize

Jun 17, 2021 | Announcements

The Bucks County Symphony Orchestra is pleased to announce the 1st Prize winner of the 2021 Youth Concerto Competition.

Matthew Chung, age 14, won first prize in the auditions for his outstanding performance of David Popper’s Hungarian Rhapsody. The judges praised his wonderful execution and fantastic bow control on a technically difficult piece. He demonstrated impressive ability to differentiate phrases with varying levels of intensity. For his exemplary performance as winner of the competition, Matthew receives an invitation to perform with the BCSO at the 2021 Family Concert in December and the prestigious Jeanne Marvin Phillips Prize.

Matthew is an 8th grade student at Arcola Intermediate School in the Methacton School District. He has been a cello student of Hsiao Ming Chen for 9 years. He attends Community Music School in Trappe, PA, where he is a recipient of a merit scholarship, and has participated in chamber ensembles at the school. Matthew was the 1st place winner in Tri-County Concerts’ 2021 Youth Festival in Junior Strings. In 2019, as part of the Eridanus Trio, he won 2nd place in Tri-County’s Festival in Junior Ensemble. The trio was invited by the Pennsylvania Philharmonic that summer to perform at one of its concerts. This year, he joined the Center for Gifted Young Musicians (CGYM) of Temple Music Prep and was in a masterclass with Philadelphia Orchestra cellist Priscilla Lee.

Matthew is a distinguished honor roll student, first cello in his school string ensemble, a member of National Junior Honor Society, and a member of the Math Counts team. He was captain of his 8th grade soccer team, enjoyed running track with his friends, and plays travel soccer.