Hayden Ren, 17, a senior at Newton North High School, has been studying cello at the New England Conservatory (NEC) under Allison Eldredge since the age of eight. She is currently also studying with Blaise Dejardin. Hayden was the first prize winner of the 2023–2024 NEC Prep Concerto Competition and the 2021 NEC Prep 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 runner-up in the 2023 Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra 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 International Cello Competition in Prague. She was also a finalist in the 2025 Boston POPS Young Artist Competition.

As a cello soloist, Hayden has performed with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, New England Philharmonic, NEC Youth Symphony, Sharon Community Chamber Orchestra, Wellesley Symphony Orchestra and the ASMI Chamber Orchestra (Italy), as well as in the world’s premier renowned venues, including Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Gilles-Lefebvre Hall (Orford, Canada), and Teatro degli Atti (Rimini, Italy). In recent summers, Hayden has been accepted into the masterclasses and studios of esteemed instructors such as Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser, Fred Sherry, Lluis Claret, Matt Haimovitz, and Amit Peled at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Orford Music Academy (Canada), and the Altschuler Summer Music Institute (Italy). As a devoted chamber musician, Hayden, with Trio Résonne, won first prize in the senior category of the 2024 IX International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition and performed at the iconic Hatch Memorial Shell that same year. She has been a member of the NEC 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. 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.

Hayden has been a member of the cello section of the acclaimed Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO) since 2021. She is also a member of the NEC String Chamber Orchestra for the 2025–2026 season and previously played in the NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra and the NEC Youth Symphony. With BPYO, Hayden has performed regularly at Boston Symphony Hall and toured internationally to some of the world’s most distinguished 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.