2025 Sphinx Competition Laureates Announced

January 27, 2025, 2:42 PM · Congratulations to the laureates in the 28th Annual Sphinx Competition! The competition started on Jan. 22 and concluded on Saturday with finalists performing with Sphinx Symphony Orchestra at the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit, Michigan. Here are all of the prizewinners:

Senior Division Laureates (Ages 18-30):

First prize ($50,000): violinist Gabriela Lara of Barquisimeto, Venezuela
Second prize ($20,000): violist Paul Aguilar of Houston, Texas
Third prize ($10,000): violinist Brendon Elliott of Newport News, Va.
Audience Choice Prize ($5,000): violist Paul Aguilar of Houston, Texas

Sphinx 2025 Senior Division Finalists L-R: Brendon Elliott, Gabriela Lara and Paul Aguilar.

Originally from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, first prize winner Gabriela Lara began her violin studies at age 8 and later became a member of the Latin American Violin Academy, where she was a student of Jose Francisco del Castillo and Francisco Diaz. She was also a member of El Sistema in Venezuela and performed extensively with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Lara received a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she was a student of Almita Vamos and went on to receive a master’s degree in Suzuki Pedagogy from Roosevelt University in 2024. Lara is the first Chicago Symphony Orchestra musician appointed by Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä and will begin her position as a member of the first violin section - today!

Watch the 28th Annual Sphinx Competition Final Concert here:

PROGRAM:

Brendon Elliott performing Coleridge-Taylor's Concerto for Violin in G Minor, Op. 80, mvt. 1 (7:54)
Paul Aguilar performing C. Colberg's Viola Concerto, mvt. 3 (22:42)
Gabriela Lara performing Coleridge-Taylor's Concerto for Violin in G Minor, Op. 80, mvt. 1 (33:53)

All with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra.

Junior Division Laureates (Ages 17 and under):

First prize ($10,000): violinist Jacqueline Rodenbeck of Tucson, Ariz.
Second prize ($5,000): cellist Sonya Moomaw of Cincinnati, Ohio
Third prize ($3,000): violinist Kai Isoke Ai-Landing of Chicago, Ill. and Melbourne, Fla.

Sphinx 2025 Junior Division Finalists- L-R: Jacqueline Rodenbeck, Sonya Moomaw and Kai Isoke Ai-Landing.

Watch the 28th Annual Sphinx Competition Honors Concert here:

PROGRAM:

Jacqueline Rodenbeck performing Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3, mvt. 1 (12:57)
Sonya Moomaw performing Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1, mvt. 1 (27:02)
Kai Isoke Ai-Landing performing Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3, mvt. 1 (40:27)

The Sphinx Competition is a national competition in the U.S. for Black and Latinx classical string players. The 2025 Sphinx competition jury included Danielle Belen, Joseph Conyers, Charlotte Lee, Joshua Roman, Abhijit Sengupta, Melissa White and Mark Wilson.

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Richard Pairaudeau

February 1, 2025 at 11:35 AM · Restorative and inspiring performances in the first video ...unfortunately, the junior competition video comes up as 'private'. The Colberg viola concerto is wonderfully cheerful!

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2025 Sphinx Competition Laureates Announced

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