2026 Overall Young Artist Winner
Houston, Texas – May 18, 2026—Symphony North of Houston announced the 2026 Young Artist Overall Winner.
Symphony North of Houston is pleased to announce the 2026 Young Artist Overall Winner. For the past 28 years among community orchestras, Symphony North has been the foremost innovator and thought leader in providing an avenue for young artist to display their amazing talents by performing a classical concerto movement with an orchestra.
At Symphony North’s Late Spring & Young Artist Concert on May 17, 2026, the overall winner was selected by a panel of judges from among the best performing category winners. They selected Carl Rubly’s performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 as the Overall Winner.
This special concert, conducted by Dr. Karl Blench, closed Symphony North’s 50th Anniversary Season and featured Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony, arranged and orchestrated by Dr. Blench.
Thank you to our musicians, patrons, volunteers, families, and community supporters for helping make this milestone season so memorable.
This concert was funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
First Place Category Winners
1st Place Winds, Jonathan Zhang, with Ingolf Dahl’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone
1st Place Strings, Gabrielle Shin, with Felix Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E minor, 1st mvt
1st Place Piano, Carl Rubly, with Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1
Overall Winner Carl Rubly
Carl Rubly (14) lives in Houston, Texas. He is a student of John and Nancy Weems. Since beginning of his piano journey at the age of four, Carl has earned numerous accolades and performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Van Cliburn Concert Hall, and the Stude Hall (Rice U).
Most recently, Carl has won the 2026 Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra’s Ogletree Competition 2025 and 2026 Clear Lake Symphony Piano Concerto Competition. Last year he won the 2025 Texas Music Teachers’ Association (TMTA) competition, the 2025 Baylor/Waco Piano Competition and 2025 Blinn College Piano Competition in the 7 & 8 Grade category, following his victory in the same competition’s 5 & 6 Grade category in 2023. Carl’s achievements include performances at the Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and top honors in highly competitive national and international events.
Carl’s first-place awards span across a variety of distinguished competitions, such as the 2019 Golden Classical Music International Piano Competition, the 2020 London Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition, the 2021 Rochelle Liebling Kahan Competition for Child Piano Prodigies, the 2022 and 2023 IMTA piano competitions, the 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Katy Music Teachers Association’s Jazz Festivals, the 2022 University of Houston Forum of Young Artists; the 2022 Critique’s Corner, the 2020 and 2022 Katy Music Teachers Association’s Sonatina Festival, the 2023 Thirteen International Chopin Youth Competition, and the 2024 North Texas Young Artist Piano Competition, and 2025 Texas Music Teachers’ Association (TMTA) competition.
Carl finds joy and fulfillment in participating in concerts, recitals, music festivals, attending master classes, and performing at senior facilities.
