Hayden Ren, 17, is a senior at Newton North High School and has studied cello at the New England Conservatory (NEC) Preparatory School since age eight with Allison Eldredge, and more recently with Blaise Déjardin. She has been admitted to Harvard University and will begin her studies in fall 2026.

Hayden was the first prize winner of the 2025-2026, and 2023-2024 NEC Prep Concerto Competitions, as well as the first prize winner of the 2021 Solo String (Cello) Competition in her age category. She also won the 2025 Boston Civic Symphony Young Artist Concerto Competition, the 2025 Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Competition, and the 2024 New England Philharmonic Young Artist Competition. She was the second prize winner of 2026 Harvard Musical Association High School Achievement Award. She was the runner-up in the 2023 WPO Concerto Competition and earned second prize at the 2022 Brockton Symphony Orchestra and 2025 Quincy Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competitions. In 2025, Hayden received the Grand Prize at the International Antonín Dvořák Classical Music Competition and second prize at the Gustav Mahler Prize Cello Competition. She was also a finalist in the 2025 Boston POPS Young Artist Competition. 

As a cello soloist, Hayden has performed with the Boston Civic Symphony, NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra, New Philharmonia Orchestra, New England Philharmonic, NEC Youth Symphony, Sharon Community Chamber Orchestra, Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, and the ASMI Chamber Orchestra in Italy. She has appeared in some of the world’s most renowned venues, including Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Hatch Memorial Shell, Gilles-Lefebvre Hall (Orford, Canada), and Teatro degli Atti (Rimini, Italy). Hayden has been accepted to the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Orford Music Academy (Canada), and the Altschuler Summer Music Institute (Italy), where she has participated in masterclasses and studios with esteemed instructors including Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser, Fred Sherry, Lluis Claret, Matt Haimovitz, and Amit Peled.

As a devoted chamber musician, Hayden performs actively in piano trios and string quartets. With Trio Résonne of the Rivers School’s ChambermusicLab program, she won First Prize in the Senior Division of the 2024 IX International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition. During the 2024–2025 season, she was a member of the NEC’s Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar (CHIPS), where she performed with Trio Verus. In 2025, Trio Verus advanced to the quarterfinals of the 52nd Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and will return to compete again in May 2026. Both Trio Résonne and Trio Verus have been featured in Benjamin Zander’s renowned Interpretation Masterclass series on YouTube, performing piano trios by Ravel, Haydn, and Shostakovich. In addition, Hayden received intensive string quartet training and performed in concerts during six-week session of the Bowdoin International Music Festival in 2025.

Hayden Ren has been a member of the acclaimed Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO) since 2021 and currently serves as the permanent third-chair cellist, the highest seat held by a pre-college cellist for the 2025–2026 season. She also serves as rotating principal cellist of the NEC String Chamber Orchestra for the 2025–2026 season and previously was a member of the NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Youth Symphony. As a member of BPYO, Hayden has regularly performed at Boston Symphony Hall and toured prestigious venues, including the Philharmonie Berlin, Musikverein Vienna, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Rudolfinum Prague during the summer of 2024; historic music venues in South Africa (Pretoria, Soweto, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Makhanda) in 2023; Greece (Athens’ Megaron Christos Lambrakis Hall, Thessaloniki, Corfu, Ioannina, Delphi, and Patras) in 2022; and Mexico (Sala Netzahualcóyotl and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, as well as León, Veracruz, Xalapa, and Puebla) in 2025.