As far as winning a competition goes, winning one by one of the world's largest instrument makers is up there.

Bearing that in mind, congratulations are in order for SFCM Flute student Beneditto (Ben) Caroccio, named one of 11 winners of the 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artists (YYPA) Competition, held "to acknowledge and reward exceptional young musicians studying in the United States and excelling in classical, jazz, and contemporary music genres."

“I'm incredibly honored to have been selected as a 2025 Yamaha Young Artist Competition winner," Caroccio says. "I’m especially grateful to my amazing teacher and mentor, Cathy Payne, whose encouragement and guidance inspired me to enter and give it my all.”

For her part, Payne contratulates her student on the win, adding, "Ben is an amazing student who accepts every challenge and is constantly striving to be the best flutist and musician he can possibly be! He is an incredibly gifted performer who always plays with commitment, imagination and passion."

“Each of the 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition Winners are extraordinarily unique and gifted!” said John Wittmann, associate vice president of Yamaha artist relations. “The YYPA winners have earned this recognition and will never forget this once-in-a-lifetime musical experience. Yamaha remains committed to music education and we will continue to help guide young music makers into rewarding careers. The YYPA Program is exciting and deeply fulfilling to us.”

Beneditto will actually be skipping one of the celebrations of the Yamaha Young Artists, because he'll be attending the Classical Movements’ Prague Summer Nights: Young Artists Music Festival for four weeks this summer. As part of the orchestra, Caroccio will be performing works from Dvořák, Sibelius, and Beethoven alongside with musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, and Dallas Symphony Chorus, the last of held in Prague's historic Smetana Hall.

Learn more about studying flute at SFCM.