On Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at 6 p.m., four 2026 Avery Fisher Career Grants were announced by Deborah Borda, Avery Fisher Artist Program Chair, along with Nancy Fisher and Charles Avery Fisher, children of the late Avery and Janet Fisher. The recipients being honored at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR were Leland Ko, cellist; Nathan Meltzer, violinist; Keila Wakao, violinist; and Dmitry Yudin, pianist.

Performances by all four Career Grant recipients for an invited audience followed the announcement. Hosted by WQXR’s Elliott Forrest, the Career Grant performances will also be webcast live by WQXR, New York’s only all-classical music station, at www.wqxr.org, and broadcast on Thursday, April 16 at 8 p.m. and again on Saturday, April 18 at 9 p.m. on 105.9 FM.

The 2026 Career Grants award ceremony continues a tradition established over five decades ago by Avery Fisher, and WQXR has been a broadcast partner of these festivities since the first Career Grants were awarded in 1976. Great Performances on PBS will feature the 2026 Career Grant recipients on Taking Note, a digital series launched in 2024 to spotlight rising instrumentalists who have received Career Grant Awards from the Avery Fisher Artist Program.

Since 1976, 183 Career Grants have been awarded (including this year’s grants), and all recipients maintain active music careers. Former Career Grant recipients include pianists Jonathan Biss and Yuja Wang.