Sphinx Competition Announces 2024 Senior & Junior Division Winners

Violinist Nathan Amaral won first prize in the Senior Division while Ana Isabella España won the Junior Division

Presented by the Sphinx Organization, the national Sphinx Competition annually offers young Black and Latinx classical string players the opportunity to perform before an internationally renowned jury and be mentored by top industry professionals.

This year's finalists performed with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra at Michigan’s Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center. 

After performing the first movement of Coleridge-Taylor’s Concerto for Violin in G minor, Op. 80 in the event's Senior Division, violinist Nathan Amaral of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was named the 2024 First Prize winner. He will receive the $50,000 Robert Frederick Smith Prize and several solo appearances with major orchestras.

Second place in the Senior Division and $20,000, plus the $5,000 Audience Choice Prize, was awarded to double bassist Aaron Olguin. Third place and $10,000 went to violinist Bethlehem Kelley.

In the Junior Division, violinist Ana Isabella España received first prize, along with a cash award of $10,000, the chance to appear solo with major orchestras, and a nationally broadcast radio appearance opportunity on From the Top. 

The junior division second prize and $5,000 went to violinist Rebecca Beato, and cellist Sonya Moomaw won third place with $3,000.

The 2024 jury comprised Joseph Conyers, Randall Goosby, Alasdair Tait, George Taylor, Elena Urioste, Seth Parker Woods, and John Zion.

Previous winners include Joseph Conyers, Patrice Jackson, Sterling Elliott, Randall Goosby, Tai Murray, and Elena Urioste,