17 year old guitarist Shon Stelman
Shon Stelman was born in 1996 in Hadera, Israel and is now a senior at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL. At the age of ten, he discovered a passion towards classical music and was encouraged by his parents to start playing a musical instrument. He chose to play the guitar and started taking guitar lessons from Dalit and Marcelo Raij. In December 2007, he immigrated with his family to the United States and continued his guitar lessons with Mikhail Sytchev.
While enjoying playing the guitar, he participated in the Granquist Memorial Music Competition in 2009 where he won first place. In addition, he attended numerous master classes with Brian Torosian and Eliot Fisk at the Boston Guitar Festival where he also participated in the competition. Considering other opportunities, he achieved high scores for participating in IHSA for his school. Participation in the IYC three times and getting second place in 2012 as well as first place at the SAM Competition in Chicago in 2013 granted him a lifetime experience. His dream is to attend a music school and pursue a career as a guitarist and music educator.
Note: This broadcast was originally scheduled for Saturday, November 16.