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2024 Sphinx Competition Laureates Announced

January 28, 2024, 1:24 AM · Congratulations to the laureates in the 27th Annual Sphinx Competition! The competition started on Jan. 25 at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit, Michigan and concluded on Saturday. Here are all of the prizewinners:

Senior Division Laureates (Ages 18-30):

• First prize ($50,000): Nathan Amaral, violin
• Second prize ($20,000): Aaron Olguin, bass
• Third prize ($10,000): Bethlehem Kelley, violin
• Audience Choice Prize ($5,000): Aaron Olguin, bass

Senior division first-prize winner Nathan Amaral, born in Rio de Janeiro, is an internationally awarded solo Brazilian violinist. Amaral studied at New England Conservatory of Music with Donald Weilerstein and recently recorded his debut album with Decca Classics. Some of his musical collaborations include violinist Hilary Hahn, Tabea Zimmermann, and Yura Lee, among others. He has performed in venues such as Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre, Berlin Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Dortmund, and Großer Saal Mozarteum.

All Junior and Senior Division finalists performed with American conductor Joseph Young and the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, the all-Black and Latinx orchestra comprising top professionals from around the country. Watch the Finals Concert here:

Junior Division Laureates (Ages 17 and under):

• First prize ($10,000): Ana Isabella España, violin
• Second prize ($5,000): Rebecca Beato, violin
• Third prize ($3000): Sonya Moomaw, cello

Junior division first-prize winner Ana Isabella Espan~a, 17, has been playing the violin since the age of four. A native of New York City, she studies under Ms. Lynelle Smith at the Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School High School and studies privately with Professor Masao Kawasaki of The Juilliard School. Isabella is currently Concertmaster for the Grammy-winning New York Youth Symphony (NYYS) flagship orchestra for the 2023-24 season and has been a member of the orchestra for the past two seasons, with three concerts per season at Carnegie Hall.

The Sphinx Competition is a national competition in the U.S. for Black and Latinx classical string players. The 2024 Sphinx competition jury included Joseph Conyers, Principal Bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra; violinist Randall Goosby; cellist Seth Parker Woods; Alasdair Tait, Chief Executive & Artistic Director of Young Classical Artists Trust; George Taylor, Professor of Viola at Eastman School of Music; violinist Elena Urioste; and John Zion, President & CEO of MKI Artists.

You might also like:

• 2023 Sphinx Competition Laureates Announced
• Interview with Violinist Njioma Grevious, Winner of the 2023 Sphinx Competition
• Interview with Violinist Randall Goosby: 'Roots' and African-American Music

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