The William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition has long brought extraordinary young musicians to Flint from all corners of the globe, but this year’s competition carried a special kind of resonance.

Held March 7 at the Dort Music Center, the 54th annual competition welcomed wind and brass performers from around the world. The competition rotates annually between four disciplines: winds and brass, piano, voice and strings, and offers an $8000 grand prize and the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Flint Symphony Orchestra. Named for the late William C. Byrd, conductor of the FSO from 1966-74, the competition is hosted by the St. Cecilia Society of Flint to promote artistic excellence and connect the community to remarkable emerging talent.

This year, that talent included someone whose musical journey began right here at home.

Clarinetist Najee Greenlee, a Flint native and alumnus of the Flint School of Performing Arts, was named the 2026 winner after a standout performance of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. Greenlee, who graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and is now completing his undergraduate studies at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, describes the experience as “a very meaningful full circle moment.”

“Returning to FSPA brought back so many great memories of my first lessons and first time playing in FYSO,” he says. Those memories include the first professional symphony concert he attended: a 2019 FSO performance that featured the Byrd Competition winner, a pianist that year. “I never imagined that I would have that same opportunity just a few years later.”

For Flint and for FIM, Greenlee’s win is especially meaningful. His success reflects not only personal talent and dedication, but also the power of local arts education to nurture artists of the highest caliber.

This year’s competition also marked an important transition in leadership. After 15 years as chair of the event, Carol Hinterman, a clarinetist herself, has chosen to make this year’s wind and brass competition her final year in the role and could not have been more pleased with the outcome.

“The wind and brass contestants are very outgoing and a lot of fun to work with. They really turned out in force!” says Hinterman of the strong competition. “Competition day was a very busy day,” she adds, even joking that each ear she considers buying herself a t-shirt that says “I survived the Byrd!”

Hinterman has guided the competition with steadiness, helping preserve the strong reputation built by her predecessors, while adapting it to changing times.

“It is very special for all of the FIM family to have the 2026 Byrd winner have his start in music at the FSPA,” she says, noting that the young clarinetist made the challenging performance look easy.

Succeeding her as chair is fellow St. Cecilia Society member Dr. Townes Osborn Miller, who also serves on the FIM Board of Trustees and as Chair of the Patron Development Committee. Miller, who has assisted Hinterman on competition day as the Master of Ceremonies for the past three years, says she is eager to build on the competition’s legacy.

“It is such an honor to have been asked,” Miller says of accepting the role. “My goal is to keep steering the ship in the right direction while learning from those who have been involved for many years.” Those plans include growing the committee to encourage more participation and reap the benefit of more institutional knowledge. As a professor of music at Mott Community College, she is also eager to see participation from more young people in the community.

“What a tremendous opportunity for them to learn and be inspired,” she says.

That is perhaps especially true of this year’s competition, which pleasantly surprised everyone with a hometown hero.

“When I introduced the finalists and read that Najee was a Flint native — there was an audible gasp from the audience,” she recalls. “When he won, you could hear the immense pride in the applause.”

For Miller and Hinterman alike, that pride is what makes the Byrd competition, and its legacy, so important.

“It allows our community to support international musicians in their professional endeavors. Providing the opportunity to solo with the Flint Symphony Orchestra puts this event on par with many of the world’s major competitions,” says Miller, noting that it was the depth of the music and arts community in Flint that both surprised and persuaded her to stay when she was transplanted from Kansas City over a decade ago.

“I firmly believe anyone can achieve anything with vision, tenacity and love,” Miller says of both Najee’s accomplishment and her future endeavor as chair of the competition. “His win speaks to the work we do at FIM and FSPA. We are growing the arts, educating, and showing our community that music has a vital place in this world.”