Kai Isoke and her sibling, Ifetayo, perform together on Show 466.

Kai Isoke Ali-Landing (violin), 16, is a violinist originally from Chicago, Illinois, and now living in Melbourne, Florida. She began her musical studies at 18 months old, initially learning the violin with her mother, violinist Lucinda Ali-Landing, at the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute. Kai Isoke currently studies with Almita Vamos of Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Kai Isoke has attended several summer music festivals, including the Taipei Music Academy & Festival (2024), Sphinx Performance Academy (2020–2024), Heifetz International Music Institute (2023), DePaul School of Music Summer Violin Intensive (2020), and the Chicago Suzuki Institute (2014–2019).

Throughout her career, Kai Isoke has competed in local, regional, national, and international competitions. In 2025, she won first place in the DePaul National Concerto Competition and third place in the Sphinx Competition. In 2024, she earned an honorable mention in the DePaul National Concerto Competition, placed third in the Sejong Music Competition, was a finalist in the Chicago International Violin Competition, and reached the semi-finals of the Sphinx Competition. Additionally, her chamber group was a quarter-finalist in the Fischoff Competition (2024) and won first place in the St. Paul String Quartet Competition, where they also received the BIPOC Round Prize and the Audience Choice Award. Kai Isoke also earned an honorable mention in the Rembrandt Chamber Competition.

Other notable achievements include first place in the Sejong Music Competition (2017), first place in the Society of American Musicians (2018), and honorable mentions in the 33rd Music Festival in Honor of Confucius (2018) and the DePaul National Concerto Competition for Young Performers (2023).

Outside of her musical endeavors, Kai Isoke enjoys computer science, running, sailing, studying Mandarin, and traveling. She plans to continue her violin studies while aspiring to perform as a soloist with orchestras worldwide.

Ifetayo performed February 11th, 2018 on Show 349 in Boston, Massachusetts.

At 16, Ifetayo appeared on From the Top’s series Where Music Lives with Kevin Olusola. Check it out!

Her bio from 2018:

Ifetayo Ali-Landing (cello), 15, lives in Chicago, Illinois where she has studied at the Hyde Park Suzuki Institute and with Hans Jensen at Northwestern University School of Music. Ifetayo was the 2017 Sphinx Competition Junior Division First-Place Laureate and performed as soloist with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall in Detroit. She has also performed with the Wilmington (NC) Symphony, New World Symphony, and Detroit Symphony, and her favorite musical experience has been performing at the Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, New York. Ifetayo also enjoys fashion, computer coding, soccer, acting, and creating video content.