Young Artist Competition Winners

Each season, the MDSO offers opportunities for young artists to perform as soloists.  Millikin University holds an annual Concerto/Aria Competition from which a small group of talented musicians are selected. As part of the “Performance Learning” model at Millikin, this is an additional feature of the School of Music which allows students to learn and practice their art. 

Millikin Young Artist Winners 2023

This year’s winners of the Young Artist Aria/Concerto Competition will perform with the MDSO at the Masterworks III Concert on February 7, 2026, 7:30pm at Kirkland Fine Arts Center.

Mackenzie Mann, Saxophone

Eric Brindle, marimba

Eric Brindle is a senior marimbist and composer who has been performing as a percussionist for the past 16 years both as a soloist and in various ensembles. He studied for 9 years under the guidance of Millikin alum Angela Kepley and currently studies percussion performance at Millikin University with Dr. Jeremy Brunk and Dr. Aaron Villarreal. Though trained in a multitude of percussive instruments, Eric has a profound dedication to the marimba and has performed works by renowned marimba composers such as Keiko Abe, Mark Ford, and Ney Rosauro. As a composer, he has a particular interest in exploring bimodality. Recent performances of his works include Menagerie, a piece for mixed ensemble with dance accompaniment, performed at Rose Bowl Tavern in Urbana, IL., Undercurrent for solo flute performed by Millikin student Erica Edwards, and an upcoming premiere of Luminescence, a commissioned percussion quartet by Anna Espinosa and her high school percussion ensemble in Sleepy Hollow, NY. Eric studies music composition at Millikin University with Dr. Ralph Lewis. On winning the Young Artist Concerto/Aria Competition, Eric says: “I am very grateful for the opportunity to perform Rosauro’s Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra with Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra; it is the perfect way to conclude my journey here at Millikin. I learned and studied this concerto extensively while I was still in high school and now performing it with an orchestra, I am seeing the outcome of my efforts. It is a great honor for me to have been chosen as one of the two finalists.”

Mackenzie Mann, Saxophone

Isabella Haney, clarinet

Isabella Haney is a sophomore clarinet performance major from Geneseo, Illinois where she began playing the clarinet at 11 years old. Isabella studies with Dr. David Cook and performs in the clarinet section of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Clarinet Quartet and Trio, and Eidolan Woodwind Ensemble. Additionally, she has performed at Carnegie Hall with the Honors Performance Series, and in Austria with the World Youth Wind Orchestra Project. Aside from music and academics, Isabella loves to spend her free time spending time with her two pugs, Asher and Opal.