2021 Sphinx Competition Laureates Announced

February 3, 2021, 10:18 PM · Two violinists won first place in each of the two divisions of the 24th annual Sphinx Competition, which was held virtually and ended on Saturday with an online Finals Concert (watch the final concert in the video below).

Samuel Abraham Vargas Teixeira and Amaryn Olmeda

Sphinx First-place laureates Samuel Abraham Vargas Teixeira (Senior Division) and Amaryn Olmeda (Junior Division). Both are violinists.

Venezuelan violinist Samuel Abraham Vargas Teixeira, a student of Sergiu Schwartz at Columbus State University, won first prize ($50,000) in the Senior Division; and California homeschooler Amaryn Olmeda, a student of Simon James at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, won first prize ($10,000) in the Junior Division.

Here is a list of all the laureates in the 2021 competition:

Senior Division Laureates (Age 18-30):

First Place ($50,000): Samuel Abraham Vargas Teixeira, violin
Columbus State University
Second Place ($20,000): Christian Gray, bass
Boston University
Third Place ($10,000): Luiz Fernando Venturelli, cello
Northwestern University
Audience Choice ($5,000): Christian Gray, bass

Junior Division Laureates (Age 17 and under):

First Place ($10,000) Amaryn Olmeda, violin
Homeschooled (California)
Second Place ($5,000): Jonathan Okseniuk, violin
Arete Preparatory Academy (Arizona)
Third Place ($3,000): Dillon P. Scott, viola
North Penn High School (Pennsylvania)

The Sphinx Competition is open to all junior high, high school, and college-age Black and Latino string players residing in the United States. Jury members for the 2021 competition included Jennifer Arnold, Joel Krosnick, Tai Murray, Philippe Quint, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Matthew Van Besien, and Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt.

Here is the Sphinx Competition Finals Concert, which took place virtually on Saturday.