Designed to support the development of young artists and celebrate the lifelong creativity of DC-area performers, the Misbin Family Memorial Chamber Music Competition is open to instrumental chamber music students and adult amateur musicians. Participants are adjudicated by a panel of judges made up of distinguished performers, teachers, and other recognized members of the greater Washington music community.
The competition is open to the public free of charge—a great opportunity to hear promising young artists in a varied program. Winners receive cash awards and opportunities to perform in prestigious venues across the Washington, DC metro region.
The 2025 competition took place on Sunday, April 6, 2025. Special thanks to this year’s judges, Lisa Cella, Cleveland Chandler Jr., and Jon Goldberg.
Levine Music and Washington Performing Arts gratefully acknowledge Dr. Robert Misbin as well as the support of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts.
Awards
Congratulations to the participants, their teachers, coaches, and their families!
Junior Division
First Place: Bellissima Duo (Chloe Robertson, violin; Addison Ellis-Otovo, viola; coached by Mahoko Eguchi)
Second Place: Harmonics Quintet (Daniel Sungun Won, violin; Christopher Yun, violin; Jonathan Y. Chi, viola; Jules Amyot, cello; Minjae Jeon, piano; coached by Jinha Park)
Honorable Mention: The Clefhangers Trio (Philip Thankachan, violin; Momo Sasaki, violin; Akira Inoue, cello; coached by Virgilio Joven)
Senior Division
First Place: Quintessence Quintet (Enzo Baldanza, violin; Esther Bonney, violin; Chloe Lee, viola; Elisa Swift, cello; Jessica Chen, piano; coached by Loewi Lin)
Second Place (ex aequo): Reinecke Trio (Evelin Kleczek, piano; Donovan Holt-Harrington, clarinet; Ian Lander, French horn; coached by Lin Ma) & Caravan Quartet (Noelle Fiegl, violin; Jingjing Wu, violin; Katie Hwang, viola; Elena Kim, cello; coached by Claudia Chudacoff)
Honorable Mentions: Ayr Hill Trio (Eileen Maloney Cunningham, violin; Valerie Lai, cello; Felix Xu, piano; coached by Nancy O’Neill Breth) & Del Frutal (Noah Wilkins, alto saxophone; Isaac Seiken, piano; coached by Kenneth Stilwell)
Adult Amateur Division
First Place: Q Street Trio (Felicia Weiss, piano; Ginger Anders, violin; Jenny Petrow, cello)
Second Place: Duo for Democracy (Corby Johnson, viola; Thomas Carter, viola)
Misbin Family Memorial Award
On the Other Hand (Uma Das, piano; Sam Brose, piano; coached by Natalia Efremova)