Meet Leila

Leila performs on Show 484.

Leila Mostaghimi (clarinet), 16, from Newton, Massachusetts, is a student at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School (NEC Prep), where she studies with Kai-Yun Lu on clarinet and Yukiko Takagi on piano.

Leila was recently selected as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) for the 2026 season. This follows her 2025 season with the National Youth Orchestra 2 (NYO2). She is also the principal clarinet of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Senior Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble at NEC Prep. Leila actively competes as a soloist and was given the Shining Star Award at the 2025 Silverstein International Clarinet Competition.

Beyond the orchestral world, Leila finds joy and freedom in playing jazz. She is currently the lead alto saxophonist and clarinetist for the Beantown Swing Orchestra and the Newton South High School Jazz Ensemble. In 2025, she traveled to New York as a finalist in the Essentially Ellington competition with her school jazz ensemble, where she earned an Outstanding Clarinet award.

As an artist and performer, Leila is inspired by the way music enables both the performer and the listener to connect in an immersive experience. She aims to create that shared presence in every performance, whether on the orchestral stage or the bandstand. When she is not practicing or on stage, she enjoys baking chocolate chip cookies and writing poetry.