Neighbors in the News: Maine West junior named to Carnegie Hall music program

• Maine West High School junior Sophia Luong was accepted as a member of the Carnegie Hall NYO2 program.

The NYO2 tuition-free, summer program is for outstanding young musicians. Luong will receive intensive training and performance opportunities and work closely with top players from American orchestras and conservatories during a residency at Purchase College, State University of New York.

Approximately 80 musicians from around the country are invited to participate each year. The NYO2 participants will perform in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage to conclude the program.

Luong was also accepted in the two-week 2022 Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar in New York City, another highly competitive program, but chose to participate in the NYO2 program instead.

Nearly a year ago she wrote a score titled "March 2020" that was recorded on May 31, 2021, at Guarneri Hall in Chicago following her participation in the Fellows of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

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Violinist Ella Saputra, 17, of Schaumburg was among the prize winners in the Minnesota Orchestra's Young People's Symphony Concert Association's 65th annual Concerto Competition. Saputra won the Schmitt Music Award.

The competition took place Feb. 22 at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition to a cash award, Saputra, a James B. Conant High School student, will also be invited to perform at Young People's Symphony Concert Association events throughout the year.

• Basketball player Grace Kinsey of Hawthorn Woods, a senior at DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, was named to the NCAA Division III Academic All-District VII Team, as selected by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America.

With a double major in actuarial science and economics, Kinsey has a 3.987 cumulative grade-point average and has helped the 12th-ranked Tigers to a 21-2 overall record and a fifth-straight outright North Coast Athletic Conference title.

Kinsey currently ranks fourth in NCAA Division III play with a 3.00:1 assist-to-turnover ratio and leads the NCAC with 4.3 assists per game.

The 2021-22 Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team, selected by CoSIDA, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.

•Submit 'Neighbor in the News' items to ntwohey@dailyherald.com.