Two Ames High School students received top honors January 14 at the annual Young Artists competition organized by the Central Iowa Symphony.

Violinist Annie Jeong and flutist Sarah Shin, both 10th graders, were selected by three judges in two rounds of competition. They will perform in concert with the Central Iowa Symphony on February 25.

Fifteen musicians performed in a Saturday morning audition and received written critiques from one of three judges. Seven finalists were selected to perform at a public audition in the afternoon. For their auditions, Jeong performed the first movement of Wieniawski's Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, and Shin performed the third movement of Ibert's Flute Concerto.

Jeong started violin while a first grader in Korea. When she moved to the United States in 2003, she began performing as the youngest member of the Central Iowa Symphony. She is a student of Jonathan Sturm, concertmaster for the Des Moines Symphony and professor of music at Iowa State University.

Shin studies flute with Sonja Giles at Iowa State University and Christine Larson, who directs bands for the Baxter School District. She has been active in a number of auditions, placing second in the Flute Wonders Competition in both 2004 and 2005, and first in the Des Moines Symphony Alliance Competition in 2005.

Central Iowa Symphony has a long tradition of showcasing promising young string players during its annual Young Artists Concert. The auditions are organized as part of the symphony's outreach and education mission. Several years ago, it was expanded from string instruments to include performers of wind, brass and percussion instruments, pianists and vocalists.