The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra (ARCO) has announced the cohort of Emerging Artists for its 2026 Young Mannheim Symphonists (YMS) program, spotlighting five young musicians set to take part in an intensive period of historically informed performance (HIP) training and professional development.

Violinist Maya Homsma, violist Neil Wang, double bassist Jude Hill, alongside Jude Macarthur and Bryn Wood, have been selected for the 2026 intake. The program is designed as a bridge between advanced study and the professional music industry, offering participants mentorship, performance experience and industry insight.

The Emerging Artists 2026: (clockwise) Maya Homsma; Neil Wang; Bryn Wood; Jude Macarthur and Jude Hill.

The Emerging Artists will perform with ARCO’s professional ensemble in Love, Loss & Madness on 16 July at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s Verbrugghen Hall, an opportunity that places them alongside leading practitioners in HIP.

Drawn from graduates of the YMS Academy program, the Emerging Artists initiative represents the final stage of ARCO’s education pathway. Participants receive mentoring from leading Australian specialists, including co-directors Rachael Beesley and Neal Peres Da Costa, and engage with research into historical performance practices such as bel canto expressive techniques.

The broader Young Mannheim Symphonists program – Australia’s only national youth orchestra dedicated to historically informed performance – offers secondary and tertiary musicians the chance to explore Classical and Romantic repertoire through period style and scholarship.

Through its layered training model, ARCO continues to position YMS as a key incubator for the next generation of HIP musicians, with the Emerging Artists program providing a crucial stepping stone into the professional orchestral sector.