Wyeth Minami, 17, from Palo Alto, CA has studied viola since age 7. He is a student of Jessica Chang, and previously studied with Be’eri Moalem. An avid chamber musician, Wyeth is a member of the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra (PACO) where he is principal viola for the 2022-23 season. He has won awards in competitions including 1st place in the 2019 USIMC, 2020 PVMC, and MTAC VOCE Santa Clara 1st place alternate and NCVS Young Violists Competition finalist in 2021, and most recently 1st place in the 2023 KAMSA Competition. Other awards include winning the PACO concerto competition twice. Wyeth was a San Francisco Chamber Orchestra Debut Artist in 2016 and performed with them again in 2020. As a member of the Pueri Quartet with Young Chamber Musicians (YCM), he has performed in concerts to raise funds for relief efforts in Turkey and Syria, and for Ukraine. The Pueri Quartet was invited to perform for the Rossmoor Chamber Music Society as one of the featured ensembles in their Chamber Music: The Next Generation concert. He has performed in masterclasses with the Ives Quartet, Jonathan Vinocour, Eric Chin (Telegraph Quartet), Quatuor Danel, and Miró Quartet. Wyeth enjoys coaching younger chamber groups, and has actively shared music through the Back to Bach Project as a regional director. In the fall, Wyeth is excited to attend the Eastman School of Music/University of Rochester dual degree program to study viola performance and engineering.