Hilary Hahn is an American violinist. A three-time Grammy Award winner, she has performed throughout the world as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors, and as a recitalist. She is an avid supporter of contemporary classical music, and several composers have written works for her, including concerti by Edgar Meyer and Jennifer Higdon, partitas by Antón García Abril, two serenades for violin and orchestra by Einojuhani Rautavaara, and a violin and piano sonata by Lera Auerbach.
Brian Ernest Orser is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater and coach to Olympic champions. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) Canadian national champion. At the 1988 Winter Olympics, the rivalry between Orser and American figure skater Brian Boitano, who were the two favorites to win the gold medal, captured media attention and was described as the "Battle of the Brians".
Jennifer Elaine Higdon is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her Percussion Concerto in 2010, Viola Concerto in 2018, and Harp Concerto in 2020. Elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019, she was a professor of composition at the Curtis Institute of Music from 1994 to 2021.
Yuja Wang is a Chinese pianist. Born in Beijing, she began learning piano there at age six, and went on to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Satoko Miyahara is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2015 World silver medalist, the 2018 World bronze medalist, the 2016 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist, a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time Skate America champion, the 2015 NHK Trophy champion, a four-time CS U.S. Classic champion, the 2014 CS Lombardia Trophy champion, and a four-time Japanese national champion (2014–17).
Wakaba Higuchi is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2018 World silver medalist and a five-time Japanese national medalist. On the junior level, she is a two-time World Junior bronze medalist, the 2014–15 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and a two-time Japan Junior national champion. She won a silver medal in team event, representing Japan at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Mariah Cheyenne Bell is an American figure skater. She is the 2022 U.S. national champion, 2020 U.S. national silver medalist, and two-time U.S. national bronze medalist. She is also the 2020 Skate America gold medalist, 2016 Skate America silver medalist, the 2019 Internationaux de France bronze medalist, the 2019 Rostelecom Cup bronze medalist, the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy champion, and the 2016 CS U.S. International Classic silver medalist.
Nikkole Hall, better known by her stage name Nikkole, is a Creole-American singer and songwriter. She is known for her Billboard charting hit songs "Zero" and "Gonna Get It Right" from her 4th studio album Hallucinations (2014). The songs have peaked on the Dance Club Songs chart at #7 and #20 respectively. She is a featured artist on the song "You Keep Lifting Me Higher" from Norman Brown's album Stay With Me (2007) that has reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker Albums, Jazz Albums charts and also peaked at #11 on the Billboard Top R&B/ Hip-Hop Albums Chart and at #107 on the Billboard 200. Nikkole has also been featured in the top 10 of Cosmopolitan Magazine's search for the Next Female Rock Star in 2008. In 2022, Nikkole signed on as co-host of The Vantage Point, a radio talkshow on Soul Cafe Radio of the NorthStar Radio Group.
Kaori Sakamoto is a Japanese figure skater. She is the 2022 Olympic bronze medalist, a three-time World champion, the 2023–24 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2018 Four Continents champion, a five-time ISU Grand Prix champion, and a four-time Japanese national champion. She is a silver medalist in the 2022 Olympic team event. At the junior level, she is the 2017 World Junior bronze medalist and the 2016–17 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist.
Mai Mihara is a Japanese competitive figure skater. She is the 2022 Grand Prix Final champion, a two-time Four Continents champion, the 2018 Four Continents silver medalist, the 2019 Four Continents bronze medalist, the 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy champion, the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo champion, and a two-time Japanese national medalist.
Winter Symphony is the fourth album release from Jennifer Thomas, and her first Christmas album. The music was written and/or arranged by Thomas, with orchestrations by Glen Gabriel. Thomas performs on both piano and violin throughout. Also featured on the album is The Ensign Chorus, Felicia Farerre, Taylor Davis, and players from The Salt Lake Pops Orchestra, The Utah Symphony, and the Chochin Chamber Orchestra. The album encompasses many traditional Christmas favorites, two new originals by Thomas, as well as some film score covers. Mixed by Brian Vibberts, contributors included Ricky Kej and Taylor Davis
You Young is a South Korean figure skater. She is the 2020 Four Continents silver medalist, a four-time Grand Prix bronze medalist, a four-time Challenger series medalist, and a five-time South Korean national champion
Alina Ilnazovna Zagitova is a retired Russian figure skater. She is the 2018 Olympic champion, the 2019 World champion, the 2018 European champion, 2017–18 Grand Prix Final champion, and the 2018 Russian national champion. Zagitova also won a silver medal in the team event at the 2018 Winter Olympics, representing the Olympic Athletes from Russia team.
Rika Kihira is a Japanese figure skater. She is a two-time Four Continents champion, the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, a four-time Grand Prix series medalist, a two-time International Challenge Cup champion, and a two-time Japanese national champion. As of 25 March 2022, Kihira is the twelfth highest ranked women's singles skater in the world by the International Skating Union.
Glen Gabriel is a Swedish composer of films, commercials, and a music arranger, primarily in the field of orchestral scores combined with electronica. He has been nominated for five Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
Alysa Liu is an American competitive figure skater. She is the 2022 World bronze medalist, the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy champion, the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. At age 16, she competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics, placing sixth. At the junior level, Liu is the 2020 World Junior bronze medalist, the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a two-time Junior Grand Prix champion, and the 2018 U.S. junior national champion.
The Fire Within is the sixth album by American Yamaha Artist Jennifer Thomas. It was released on 12 October 2018, debuting in the Billboard classical music charts at number 3, at number 2 in the classical crossover music chart and 25 in the Heatseekers chart.
A Beautiful Storm is a composition by Jennifer Thomas from her debut album Key of Sea which was used during 2018 in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating gold medal winning programmes by Rika Kihira from Japan.
The 2019–20 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final and ISU Junior Grand Prix Final was held from December 5–8, 2019 at the Torino Palavela in Turin, Italy. The combined event was the culmination of two international series — the Grand Prix of Figure Skating and the Junior Grand Prix. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dance on the senior and junior levels.
Rino Matsuike is a Japanese figure skater. She is a two-time ISU Grand Prix bronze medalist and finished fifth at the 2022 Four Continents Championships, winning a small bronze medal for her free skate. She is also the 2022 International Challenge Cup Champion.
