New Artist Members

The American Young Artists Association (AYA) welcomes nine new members in the eighth edition of its artist announcements. This group includes singers, string and brass players, composers, and a photographer, with work ranging from operatic roles and new chamber music to fashion editorials.

Several of these artists work in more than one discipline: performing and composing, playing both violin and viola, or bringing a background in fashion design to photography. Here is a closer look at the experience each brings to AYA.

Italian mezzo-soprano Francesca Di Sauro has performed at Teatro alla Scala and Teatro Regio Torino. A 2018 AsLiCo Competition winner for the role of Carmen, she has also sung Despina in Così fan tutte under Riccardo Muti.

Tongtong Lei’s work connects solo performance with chamber music and contemporary repertoire. Her musical interests include structure, narrative, and the possibilities of collaboration. At Juilliard’s ChamberFest in 2023, she performed Penderecki’s Sextet at Alice Tully Hall.

New York violinist Dexter Doris has appeared as a soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Sound Symphony, and Massapequa Philharmonic. A 2022 YoungArts winner and guest artist on From the Top, he brings experience in concerto performance, chamber music, and community engagement.

Erin Emi Nishi performs on both violin and viola and is a member of the Karuna Quartet. Originally from Honolulu, she studied psychology at Yale and has explored the relationship between music and human connection alongside her work as a soloist, chamber musician, and teaching artist.

Los Angeles-born soprano Alissa Goretsky was a national winner of the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Her stage experience includes Houston Grand Opera’s Butler Studio, where she made her company debut as Clorinda in La Cenerentola, as well as the Santa Fe Opera apprentice program.

Jacky Jiaqi Liu writes music shaped by literary and philosophical ideas, with recurring interests in compassion and belonging. His work has been performed by the Juilliard Orchestra, and he received the John Adams Award at the 2026 BMI Composer Awards.

Taige Wang combines piano performance with composition. He received third prize at the 2023 Cooper International Piano Competition and performed with the Cleveland Orchestra. His piano trio Chopin vs Chopin 2.0, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, premiered at Alice Tully Hall in 2023.

Kimmy Nelson studied trombone at Juilliard as a Kovner Fellow. An Interlochen Arts Academy alumna, she brings orchestral and chamber experience alongside an interest in teaching and community service. Her musical interests also extend to singing and songwriting.

Jiajie Lyu approaches fashion and portrait photography through questions of identity and cultural storytelling. With a background in fashion design at Parsons, she has developed work connecting people, clothing, and urban space, including a New York editorial published by COSMOPOLITAN China in January 2026.

AYA welcomes these artists to the Association and invites readers to explore their work.