THE STORY: APRIL 2026

SPRING SEMESTER: JANUARY 4 - MAY 2

Student Achievments

Constantine Wang (13), student of Winston Choi, won First Prize in the Junior Category of the American Protégé International Piano & Strings Competition 2026. He will be performing in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in June. Additionally, as winner of the GOLD HANDS of the Carles and Sofia Piano Competition, he has been invited to perform in Spain this summer. He also recently performed in the Intermediate Piano Master Class with Nancy O’Neill Breth at the 2026 MTNA National Conference.

Daniel Razminia (15), student of Jeffrey Panko and Mary Sauer, has planned a busy April filled with recitals. He performed at the Mather in Evanston on April 2nd, and will be performing for the Quigley Center at the St. James Chapel for the Friends of Window’s Second Saturday Concert Series on April 11th at 1:00PM. He’ll conclude his April recital tour at NMS on April 19th - details below!

Joseph and Kenneth Gallwas (17), students of Jeffrey Panko and Mary Sauer, gave a spectacular recital at Bethel United Church of Christ in Elmhurst as part of the Music@Bethel Concert Series. They were joined by the Valinor Trio, featuring violinist Cecilia O’Malley, cellist Gabi Raviv, and Joseph at the piano.

IN Residency— April 2026

IN Curriculum - String Performance Class

This spring, there’s something new happening in our String Department! In lieu of individual Studio Classes, our NMS String Studios will combine for String Performance Class.

This is a great opportunity for any NMS string player to come play a piece of their choosing in a “practice performance” setting. Each class will be with a different NMS teacher, and we encourage students to stay for the whole class to observe the instruction of others and to build a supportive community.

Upcoming String Performance Classes:
Saturday, April 11: 3:00-5:00PM with Emily Fischer
Saturday, May 30: 12:00PM-2:00PM with MingHuan Xu

All of our students are enrolled in this opportunity on MyMusicStaff so that the dates are visible on your calendar. If your student is interested in performing, please fill out our Google Form, and be sure to send a scanned PDF copy of your piece’s piano part to join@newmusicschool.com.

IN Curriculum - Performance Class

We encourage all NMS students to join us for our Sunday Performance Class! Performance Class is a great way to continue to progress by practicing how to perform your piece in front of an audience of other NMS Students! Led by an NMS Faculty Member, you will receive feedback on your repertoire and work on musicality, storytelling, performance protocols, practice strategies, how to battle nerves, and more. Performing in front of others is a critical skill to learn and master. It can help prepare you for recital opportunities, as well as your end of semester jury.

Upcoming Performance Classes:
Sunday, April 12th: 4:00-5:00PM (email join@newmusicschool.com to join the waitlist)
Sunday, May 3rd: 4:00-5:00PM with Jeffrey Panko (sign-up on MMS!)
Sunday, June 7th: 4:00-5:00PM with Jeffrey Panko (sign-up on MMS!)

IN Recital - Daniel Razminia,
House of Beethoven

NMS pianist Daniel Razminia (15), student of Jeffrey Panko and Mary Sauer, will be presenting his House of Beethoven Student Recital. Featuring works by Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Mozart, and more, this is sure to be a thrilling program!

When:
Sunday April 19th at 3:00PM - NMS Concert Hall, 900 N. Michigan Ave.
This event is free and open to the public!

Daniel Razminia is a 15-year-old pianist currently in tenth grade, where he attends Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale, Illinois. He aspires to be a concert pianist.

In the summer of 2025, Daniel had the special honor of performing in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall after being awarded Second Place in the American Protégé Competition. In addition, Daniel recently competed with the first movement of Chopin’s Concerto Op. 11 No.1 in E minor, winning first prize at the SBC Concerto Competition in the Senior Piano Division and also received Honorable Mention at the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra Stanger Concerto Competition.

Spring Jury Announcement

Spring Jury Information has been sent from juries@newmusicschool.com - please check your inboxes! If you have any questions, please reply to your jury info email.

We look forward to this time of celebration with our students and faculty! 

All Jury opportunities for students are listed below:

• Pre-Jury Day* - for students unable to attend the Standard Jury

  • April 12th: 4:00-5:00pm

• Standard Jury Day - held twice a year in December and April

  • April 25th: Voice 2:00-3:00pm

  • April 25th: Strings - 3:00-7:00pm

  • April 26th: Jury Day - Woodwinds - 10:00-11:00am

  • April 26th: Jury Day - Piano - 11:00am-9:00pm

• Jury Make-up day* - for students unable to attend the Standard Jury Day

  • May 31st 4:00-5:00pm

*please note that in order to be considered for the Showcase Recital or Placement Juries, the student must jury on the Standard Jury Day for their instrument. 

We want to emphasize that Juries are the core of our curriculum. Juries help our faculty evaluate student progress, and give the students clear goals to continue their musical development through our program. We can’t wait to hear all of our students give it their all in their jury performances!

Summer Enrollments

Our Spring Semester will be wrapping up on Saturday May 2nd, so Summer I is right around the corner! We want to remind all families and students that our enrollment is continuous - you will remain enrolled unless you notify billing@newmusicschool.com before Sunday May 3rd.

Questions? Email billing@newmusicschool.com!

NMS Happenings

Noemi Ciborowski (5), student of Clinton Velman, performed in Ganz Hall at Roosevelt University as the youngest Gold Medal winner of the 2026 Sonatina Festival from the Chicago Area Music Teachers Association. 

Elena Bai (5), student of Emily Fischer, performed her Suzuki Book 1 Recital on Sunday March 22nd. She played 15+ pieces from memory, and is ready to graduate to Book 2!

New Music School hosted our semesterly Departmental Recitals on Sunday March 16th. Over 65 students showed off what they’ve been working on throughout the semester, and we are so proud of how everyone performed. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Pianist Spencer Myer was IN Residency at NMS for a series of lessons and IN Recital for a captivating performance. We are so lucky to have world-class artists make the time to work with and inspire our students!

New Music School Events, Spring 2026

• April 10: Concerto Class Parent/Student Online Meeting (6:30-7:15)

• April 11: String Performance Class (3:00-5:00pm)

• April 12: Concerto Class Conductor Workshop (10:00am-12:00pm)

• April 12: Pre-Jury Day/Performance Class (4:00pm)

• April 19: IN Recital - Daniel Razminia, piano (3:00pm)

• April 17-19: IN Residency - Rachel Barton Pine, violin

• April 21-22: IN Residency - Antonio Pompa-Baldi, piano

• April 25: Jury Day Voice (2:00-3:00pm)

• April 25: Jury Day Strings (3:00-7:00pm)

• April 26: Jury Day Woodwinds (10:00-11:00am)

• April 26: Jury Day Piano (11:00am-7:30pm)

• May 1: Concerto Class - Strings/Winds with MingHuan Xu (7:00-8:30)

• May 3: Showcase Recital (5:00pm)

• May 3: Performance Class (4:00pm)

• May 8: Concerto Class - Piano with Winston Choi (6:30-8:00)

• May 15: Concerto Class - Strings/Winds Recording Session (6:30-8:00)

• May 22: Concerto Class - Piano Recording Session (6:30-8:00)

• May 30: String Performance Class (12:00-2:00pm)

• May 31: Jury Make-up Day/Performance Class (4:00pm)

• June 5: Champagne Showcase (7:00pm)

• June 5: Concerto Class Rehearsal - Ganz Hall @Roosevelt (9:00am-5:00pm)

• June 6: Concerto Class - Ganz Hall @Roosevelt (12:00-4:30pm)

• June 6: StringStravaganza! - Ganz Hall @Roosevelt (4:00pm)

• June 7: Performance Class (4:00pm)
  
  NMS Academic Calendar available on google calendar here.