The Marlin-Engel Solo Competition was established by the Board of Trustees of Levine Music in 1980 to honor Jackie Marlin and Diana Engel, two of the school’s founders and co-directors from 1976 to 1980. Originally offering a single “Marlin-Engel prize,” the competition today offers awards in both piano, strings, and instrumental categories and three age divisions: Junior (up to age 9), Intermediate (ages 10-13), and Senior (ages 14-18). The first-place prize for piano is the Ida Canter Prize, established by Dr. Jane Loeffler and her family as a tribute to her grandmother.
The 2026 Competition took place on Sunday, April 26, 2026. Each participant performed two solo works or movements that contrast in style and period.
Congratulations to all the participants, their teachers, and their families!
Awards
Congratulations to all the finalists and their extraordinary teachers!
Strings Junior
1st Place: Eva Frelinghuysen, student of Henry Stubbs
2nd Place: Riddhima Dey, student of Annabelle Berthomé-Reynolds; Emerson Kim, student of Maxfield Wollam-Fisher
Instrumental Intermediate
1st Place: Felix Karacsony-Major, student of Claire Eichhorn
2nd Place: Chloe Chu, student of Virgilio Joven; Jerome Amon, student of Henry Stubbs; Momo Sasaki, student of Virgilio Joven
Honorable Mention: Henri Espinoza, student of Susan Katsarelis
Instrumental Senior
1st Place: Aden Garland, student of Leo Sushansky
2nd Place: Joshua Badmus, student of Patrick LeStrange; Zoie Chu, student of Britton Riley
Honorable Mention: Lucca Farkas, student of Jorge Amaral
Piano Junior
1st Place: Mirei Araki, student of Sayaka Jordan
2nd Place: Faith Reyes, student of Amanda Halstead; Diana Kessler, student of Amanda Halstead
Honorable Mention: Zoey Clowes, student of Amanda Halstead
Piano Intermediate
1st Place: Pietro Magistretti, student of Martin Labazevitch
2nd Place: Jason Ding, student of Darya Gabay
Honorable Mention: Nina Sejd, student of Rachel Chen; Kantaro Araki, student of Sayaka Jordan
Piano Senior
1st Place, Ida Canter Prize: Neel Perdue, student of Martin Labazevitch
2nd Place: Uma Das, student of Cecilia Cho
Honorable Mention: Casey Didden, student of Hyeweon Gessner; Dalia Azam-Naseeruddin, student of Darya Gabay
Special thanks to: Aaron Percy, Recording Engineer; Jinha Park, competition organizer; Dasha Gabay and Irina Kats, collaborative pianists; and our judges, Stephen Czarkowski, Ivo Kaltchev, Troy King, Carolyn Hyun Ha Oh, Joanna Owens, and Mayron Tsong.
This program has been made possible through the generous support of the Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation, Inc.