YAMAHA ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF PRESTIGIOUS NATIONAL YAMAHA YOUNG PERFORMING ARTIST AWARDS

—Music Students from Across the Country Win Top Honors—

2002 YYPA winner Aaron Hill

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (June 24, 2002)—Talented young artists from across the country were honored recently as Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, announced the winners of the 2002 Yamaha Young Performing Artist (YYPA) program.

The program is designed to provide early career recognition for outstanding young musicians in the United States. Hundreds of applicants, ages 16-21, apply annually and undergo a rigorous taped audition process for a panel of national celebrity musicians. The 2002 winners join a total of over 100 other winners since the program's inception in 1989. Many have received scholarships to prestigious universities and conservatories, or are playing professionally with major jazz groups and top symphony orchestras. For instance, 1999 winners, percussionist Carmen Intorre and trumpeter Dominick Farinacci, along with 1998 winner trombonist Ryan Keberle, were recently selected as three of eighteen musicians who will make up the inaugural class of the Juilliard Institute for Jazz Studies and form the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra.

The 2002 winners are:

Winner	Instrument	Hometown	School
Julie Linder	Clarinet	Denton, TX	University of North Texas
Adrienne Jacobs	Violin	Ann Arbor, MI	University of Michigan
Geoffrey Landman	Saxophone	Ann Arbor, MI	University of Michigan
Patrick McGinthy	Trumpet	Columbia, MO	University of Missouri - Columbia
Aaron Hill	Oboe	Los Angeles, CA	University of Michigan
Ed Vinson	Tuba	Auburn, AL	Louisiana State University
Jeffery Mitchell	Flute	Cumming, GA	Graduate, University of Georgia
Esther Park	Piano	New York, NY	The Juilliard School

2002 YYPA winner Julie Linder

This year's national awards concert will be held on Monday evening, June 24 at 8:00 p.m. at Braden Auditorium on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal, IL. Winners will be guests of Yamaha for a weekend of rehearsals, master classes, special awards concerts and social events.

John Wittmann, Yamaha coordinator of YYPA program, says that the program encourages musicians to excel. "Yamaha has traditionally supported musicians from a young age. Aside from providing enjoyment, music making builds confidence and can lead to social and academic success. YYPA is our way of developing the musical talents of these wonderful young musicians."

For more information about the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Program, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Band & Orchestral Division, 3445 East Paris Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49518; call (616)940-4900; e-mail infostation@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/band.