Past Naftzger Recipients

This Years Winners

Congratulations to our Naftzger Young Artists Auditions Winners:

An image of the finalists from the 2026 competition, standing in front of WSU's marcussen organ — *Pictured from left to right*

Elizabeth Byrne, voice judge; Noah Carr, violin; Lindsey Weissman, mezzo soprano; William Suh, cello; Payton Boldt, Lyric Coloratura Soprano; Dr. Lina Bahn, string judge; Anthony Kandilaroff, flute; Micah Cheng, saxophone; Jiarui Cheng, piano; Sean Terada Yang, piano; Dr. Natasha Kislenko, piano judge; Dr. Bradley Genevro, WBP judge

Naftzger Young Artists Award Recipient ($5,000 Grand Prize)

Jiarui Cheng, Park University, piano

Division Winners ($2,000 Cash Prize)

Strings: William Suh, The Juilliard School, cello
Voice: Payton Boldt, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Lyric Coloratura Soprano
Woodwinds/Brass/Percussion: Micah Cheng, Arizona State University, saxophone

Division Runners Up ($500 Cash Prize)

Woodwinds/Brass/Percussion: Anthony Kandilaroff, University of Missouri-Kansas City, flute
Voice: Lindsey Weissman, Boston University Opera Institute, mezzo soprano
Strings: Noah Carr, University of Michigan, violin
Piano: Sean Terada Yang, Rice University

Past Naftzger Winners

Year	Winner	School
1940	Larra Browning, voice	Friends University
1941	Minas Christian, violin	Wichita State University
1942	Orcenith Smith, voice	Friends University
1943	Weldon Wilbur, French horn	Wichita State University
1944	James Could, trombone	Wichita State University
1945	No records	No records
1946	Olen Ross Gowens, voice	Friends University
1947	Mary Frances Oliver, voice	Juilliard School of Music
1948	Dorothy Merriam, violin	Eastman School of Music
1949	Tie: Esther Lee Titus, violin	Wichita State University
1949	Tie: Donna MacLean, flute	Eastman School of Music
1950	Achilles Balabanis, cello	Wichita State University
1951	Elna Claire Valine, violin	Wichita State University
1952	No records	No records
1953	Olya Zilboorg, cello	University of Kansas
1954	Carol Ann Calkins, violin	Wichita State University
1955	Jay Decker, cello	Wichita State University
1956	Jerry Garfield, piano	Wichita State University
1957	Blanca Uribe, piano	University of Missouri - Kansas City
1958	James Dick, piano	University of Texas
1959	Mary Lee Scott, violin	Wichita State University
1960	Esther Stoneking, violin	Wichita State University
1961	Ginni Eldred, violin	Wichita State University
1962	Lee Robert, viola	Wichita State University
1963	George Pro, piano	University of Kansas
1964	Nathan Goldblatt, piano	University of Kansas
1965	Gwin Gassity, piano	Wichita State University
1966	Patricia Wise, voice	University of Kansas
1967	Nancy Border, violin	Wichita State University
1968	Ada McKinney, piano	Southwestern College
1969	David Murrow, clarinet	University of Kansas
1970	Virginia Belwood, piano	University of Missouri - Kansas City
1971	Rebecca McCord, piano	Oklahoma City University
1972	Joseph Rics, piano	University of Tulsa
1973	David Hickman, trumpet	Wichita State University
1974	John Aley, trumpet	Wichita State University
1975	Ted Lane, clarinet	Juilliard School of Music
1976	Rick Rowley, piano	Washburn University
1977	David Wehr, piano	University of Kansas
1978	Louis B. Cady, piano	University of Missouri - Kansas City
1979	Lisa E. Braden, voice	Juilliard School of Music
1980	Kevin Oldham, piano	Northwestern University
1981	Laura Seaton, violin	University of Missouri - Kansas City
1982	William Price, piano	University of Kansas
1983	Stephanie Humes, soprano	University of Kansas
1984	No competition held due to re-organization of program	No competition held due to re-organization of program
1985	Meredity Mizell, soprano	Oklahoma City University
1986	Christopher Komer, French horn	Cleveland Institute
1987	John J. Huges, violin	Indiana University
1988	Yolanda Kondonassis, harp	Cleveland Institute
1989	Patricia Johnson, soprano	University of Missouri - Kansas City
1990	Sasha Starcevick, piano	St. Louis Conservatory
1991	Gregory Varner, piano	University of Missouri - Kansas City
1992	No winner - finals canceled due to power outage	No winner - finals canceled due to power outage
1993	Slawomir Dobrzanski, piano	University of Kansas
1994	Orieta Dado, violin	Fort Hays State University
1995	Chad Burrow, clarinet	Eastman School of Music
1996	Kyle Lombard, violin	Indiana University
1997	Kristin Taylor, piano	University of Missouri - Kansas City
1998	Maxim Shagdaron, piano	University of Kansas
1999	Melanie Hadley, piano	University of Missouri - St. Louis
2000	Amir Khosrowpur, piano	University of Kansas
2001	Eric Nowlin, viola	Juilliard School of Music
2002	Kristina Yoder, violin	Juilliard School of Music
2003	Bel Lin Han, piano	University of Kansas
2004	Svetlana Kosakovskaya, violin	Kansas State University
2005	Graciella Kowalczyk, piano	Park University
2006	Valerii Titishev, violin	Park University
2007	Angie Solomon, soprano	University of Kansas
2008	James Daniel Cockman III, piano	University of Kansas
2009	Julie Davis, soprano	University of Oklahoma
2010	Jeffrey Gates, baritone	Oklahoma City University
2011	Eric Umble, clarinet	University of Kansas
2012	Crystal Lam, piano	University of Kansas
2013	Inge Buniardi, piano	University of Kansas
2014	Mansur Kadirov, cello	Park University
2015	Ying Tang, piano	University of Kansas
2016	Artem Kuznetsov, piano	Park University
2017	Benjamin Dominguez, piano	University of Kansas
2018	Damian Cheek, saxophone	University of Oklahoma
2019	Simon Karakulidi, piano	Park University
2020	No competition held	No competition held
2021	No competition held	No competition held
2022	Zheyu Jiang, piano	University of Missouri - Kansas City
2023	Zhengyi Huang, piano	University of Michigan
2024	Momoko Hoffman, piano	University of Houston
2025	Zachary Costello, saxophone	Eastman School of Music
2026	Jiarui Cheng, piano	Park University