20 exceptional Black and Latinx string players across two divisions will compete for nearly $100,000 in prizes in January 2024

Sphinx Competition Semi-Finalists 2024 _2_

Read more news stories here

The Sphinx Competition, held every year in Detroit (MI), is a US competition offering young Black and Latinx classical string players a chance to compete under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges and to perform with and receive mentorship from established professional musicians. 

The competition comprises a junior division (ages 17 and under) and senior division (18 to 30). The junior division honors concert will be held on Friday 26 January 2024, where finalists will compete for the top $10,000 prize and perform with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra.

The following day on Saturday 27 January will see the senior division finals concert held at Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center in Detroit. Senior division finalists compete for the $50,000 Robert Frederick Smith Prize and solo appearances with major orchestras.

The competition has announced the semi-finalists that will compete across the Junior and Senior divisions next year. They are:

JUNIOR (ages 17 and under)

Ana Isabella España, violin

Anthony Dorsey, violin

Catalina Wooldridge, cello

Gabriela Salvador Riera, violin

Jan Vargas Nedvetsky, cello

Noah Carr, violin

Quincy Alexander Eby, viola

Rebecca Beato, violin

Sonya Moomaw, cello

SENIOR (ages 18 to 30)

Aaron Olguin, bass

Andres Sanchez, cello

Bethlehem Kelley, violin

Christian Luevano, bass

Edward Luengo, cello

Hannah White, violin

Julimar Victoria Gonzalez Leon, violin

Nathan Amaral, violin

Nazeeh Shahid, viola

Victor Daniel Diaz Sanchez, viola

Virgil Moore, violin

The 2024 Sphinx Competition jury will comprise Joseph Conyers, Randall Goosby, Alasdair Tait, George Taylor, Elena UriosteSeth Parker Woods and John Zion. The 2023 edition was won by cellist Brandon Leonard (junior division) and violinist Njioma Grevious (senior division).

Best of Technique

In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.

Masterclass

The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.

Calendars

American collector David L. Fulton amassed one of the 20th century’s finest collections of stringed instruments. This year’s calendar pays tribute to some of these priceless treasures, including Yehudi Menuhin’s celebrated ‘Lord Wilton’ Guarneri, the Carlo Bergonzi once played by Fritz Kreisler, and four instruments by Antonio Stradivari.