Named the 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, Lang Lang Music Foundation Young Scholar Clayton Stephenson is prize winner of the 2015 Van Cliburn Junior International Competition and 2016 Cooper International Competition. He is also a proud recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship. Born in Beijing and based in New York City, Youlan Ji is currently pursuing a degree at the Juilliard School. She won the Bronze medal in the inaugural Van Cliburn Junior Competition in 2015, and in 2018 won first prize at the 2018 New York International Piano Competition.