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.
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.
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.
This year's event was held at Park Central Church in downtown Syracuse on February 28, 2026. One string quartet, a flute quintet, and a woodwind quintet participated. The students were from the Syracuse and Rochester areas.
The Meridian String Quartet from Rochester won the Best Ensemble Award. They performed for the SFCM Board of Directors at their Annual Meeting in April.
The CASEY Wind Quintet won the Best Syracuse-area Ensemble Award. They performed for the full SFCM audience before the March 28 Salix Piano Trio concert.
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.
2026 COMPETITION
2026 PARTICIPANTS
2026 Winner: Best Ensemble
The Meridian String Quartet
Coach: James Marshall, Hochstein School, Rochester
Noah Busch, violin
Ceyda Lenio, violin
Karthik Jaligama, viola
Helena Dixon cello
Ravel: String Quartet in F Major, M.35: Allegro moderato
Mendelssohn: String Quartet no. 2 in A Minor, op.13, “Ist es wahr?”: Adagio — Allegro vivace
2026 Winner:Best Syracuse-area Ensemble
The CASEY Wind Quintet
Coach: Rebecca Bizup, Fayetteville Manlius High School
Serena Wan, flute
Caitlin Burke, oboe
Elize Diesing, horn
Yuto Urao, bassoon
Aiden Michel, clarinet
J.S. Bach, transcribed by Roger Stevens: Little Fugue in G Minor
Adolphe Delandres: Trois Pieces en Quintette, no. 1 Andante; no. 2 Scherzo
ADDITIONAL COMPETITOR
Flute Quintet
Coach: Rebecca Bizup, Fayetteville Manlius High School
Clara Fischi
Omarah George
Charlotte Haswell
Sophia Tsang
Elodie Michel
J. S. Bach, arr. Robert K. Webb: Prelude and Fugue in E Minor
Ralph Guenther: Song of the Bard (Variations on a Welsh Folk-Song)
