YOUTH COMPETITION
SFCM sponsors an annual Youth Chamber Music Competition. Its primary purpose is to encourage students in the Central
New York area, grades 7-12, to discover the joy of preparing and performing chamber music under the guidance of a coach.
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2025 COMPETITION
SFCM’s annual Youth Chamber Music Competition takes place early each spring. Participants must be in grades 7-12 and enrolled in a New York school district within 90 miles of Syracuse or home-schooled in one of those districts. This area includes Ithaca, Utica, Watertown, and Rochester. Each participating ensemble must have a coach.
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At the competition, groups perform for about 15 minutes before two judges and receive written evaluations. Students in one or two of the ensembles are selected to receive prize money. One group may be invited to perform at the beginning of an SFCM subscription concert before the featured professional ensemble. There is no entry fee for the competition.
The 2025 event was held at Park Central Church in downtown Syracuse on March 1, 2025. Three string quartets, a piano trio, and a woodwind quintet participated. The students were from the Syracuse and Rochester areas.
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The Wolfgang Trio from Syracuse won the Best Ensemble Award. They will perform before the SFCM April 5, 2025 Frautschi--Manasse--Nakamatsu Trio concert. Runner-up was the NAKA Quartet from Rochester.
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Many thanks to our two judges: Jessica Tumajyan, violist and director of both the orchestra at Christian Brothers Academy and the Syracuse Youth Symphony Orchestra, and flutist Martha Grener who teaches at Onondaga Community College and Lemoyne College.
2025 PARTICIPANTS
Winners and competitors from the SFCM Youth Chamber Music Competition held in March 2025.
2025 Winner: Best Ensemble
​The Wolfgang Trio
Coach: Laura Smith, The Syracuse Orchestra
Eric Lee, violin
Christian Lee, cello
Daniel Yang, piano
Beethoven: Trio in E-flat Major, op. 1, no. 1: Allegro
Turina: Trio no. 2 in B Minor, op. 76: Lento
2025 Runner-up
The NAKA String Quartet
Coach: Jeongwon Clair An
The Hochstein School, Rochester, NY
Noah Busch, violin
Alyssa Yang, violin
Karthik Jaligma, viola
Allison Glaza, cello
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Schubert: String Quartet no. 14, Allegro
Shostakovich: String Quartet no. 8, Allegro molto
ADDITIONAL COMPETITORS
String Quartet
Coach: Jeffrey Abbott
Fayetteville Manlius High School
Eve Clark, violin
Lindsey Chong, violin
Hudson Brenner, viola
Daniel Li, cello
Borodin: String Quartet no. 2, Notturno
Woodwind Quintet
Coach: Elise Kim
The Hochstein School, Rochester
Lilianna Fietkiewicz, flute
Tristan Zhang, oboe
Jordyn Stocks, clarinet
Liam Keeney, horn
James Meritt, bassoon
August Klughardt: Wind Quintet op. 79
Allegro non troppo, Allegro vivace
String Quartet
Coach: Jeffrey Abbott
Fayetteville Manlius High School
Evelyn Chin, violin
Sarah Daniels, violin
Skyler Brenner, viola
Leo Clark, cello
Haydn: String Quartet op. 76, no. 5
Menuetto and trio; Finale
