Young Artists’

Concerto Competition

Meet Our 25-26 Winners!

K-8th Division

Mollie Rice, 8th Grade, Violin

Mollie Rice is an 8th grader at Caddo Middle Magnet in Shreveport, Louisiana. She studies violin with Laura Crawford at the Centenary Suzuki School and  has been a Music Teachers National Association  Solo Competition alternate winner for  the South Central Division of the U.S. Mollie won 1st place in ArtBreak’s Got Talent and serves as concertmaster of her school orchestra. She participates in the Talented Arts Program for both music and drama, serves as Vice President of the National Junior Honor Society, and is a Student Council Representative. She also plays soccer and runs cross country.

Mollie will perform with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on January 21, 2026 at the Slidell Municipal Auditorium.

9th-12th Division

Andy Hu, 11th Grade, Double Bass

Andy Hu, 17, is a junior at Benjamin Franklin Highschool. He has been studying music for three years under the instruction of professor Yung-Chiao Wei, including an additional six years with Doug Therrien. He has had the privilege of additional studies at the 2025 International Society of Bassists convention and Interlochen Summer program. Andy is a double bassist in the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra, but his interest lies in all sorts of instrumentation—such as the guitar and bass guitar, which he plays for his band, The Centerfolds. Andy is deeply passionate about music, and he looks forward to pursuing this art and its experiences.

Andy will perform with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on February 5, 2026 at Loyola University Roussel Hall.

Bethmarie Solís Cuevas, 12th Grade, Violin

Bethmarie Solís Cuevas is a 17-year-old senior at Winter Park High School. She began playing the violin at the age of seven and has now been playing for nearly ten years.

She began her musical journey in Puerto Rico, studying with her aunt, Lilliana Marrero Solís, who first inspired her love for the instrument. Months into her playing, she went on to join Programa Música 100x35, where she studied for six years and developed skills in orchestral and ensemble playing. She later in 2020 joined the Preparatory School of El Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico for two years, where she studied with Mayra Urdaz.

Since moving to Florida, she has grown as performer and mentor to younger musicians, especially being a member of her school’s orchestra. Bethmarie has been a member of the OCPS All-County Orchestra for three years and FMEA’s All-State Orchestras for two years. In the summer of 2025, she participated in NYO-USA’s NYO2 orchestra, which traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival

Bethmarie is currently in her third season with the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras (FSYO) Symphonic Orchestra and her fourth season with FSYO overall. She currently studies under Rebecca Edge.

Bethmarie will perform with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on January 22, 2026 at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center.