The Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition is held each February at MSM, hosted by the chairs of the Strings, Piano, Woodwinds, Brass, and Vocal Arts departments at MSM, with a winner chosen from each category.
The winners will perform with one of MSM’s ensembles as part of MSM’s 2025–2026 performance season.
Pictured above: 2024 Eisenberg-Fried Competition Piano winner Po-Wei Ger (BM ’18, DMA ’26), piano, performing as a featured soloist with the MSM Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Manahan (BM ’73, MM ’76) on October 18, 2024.
2024 Eisenberg-Fried Competition Piano winner Po-Wei Ger (BM '18, DMA '26), piano
2025 Eisenberg-Fried Competition Winners
Piano Division
Daria Podorozhnova (BM ’27), piano
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83 by Johannes Brahms
Student of Alexandre Moutouzkine
Alternate
Erin Clark (DMA Candidate), piano
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by John Corigliano
Student of William Wolfram
Strings Division
Koshiro Takeuchi (BM ’28), violin
Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 35 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Student of Koichiro Harada and Lucie Robert
Alternate
Chase Park (PPD ’25), cello
Concerto for Violoncello by William Walton
Student of David Geber
Voice Division
Benjamin Sokol (BM ’22, MM ’24, PS ’25), bass-baritone
Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121 (text from Luther Bible) by Johannes Brahms
Student of James Morris
Alternate
Samantha Sosa (MM ’25), soprano
Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios, 1974 by Joaquín Rodrigo
Student of Ruth Golden
Woodwind Division
Bixby Kennedy (DMA Candidate), clarinet
Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland
Student of Charles Neidich
Alternate
Katherine Lee (BM ’28), flute
Concertstück for Flute and Piano, Op. 3 by David Anderson
Student of Robert Langevin
Brass Division
Harry Ning (BM ’25), tenor trombone
Concerto for Trombone in E-flat Major by Franz Xaver Wagenseil
Student of Colin Williams
Alternate (Tie)
Jacob Ogbu (BM ’25), tenor trombone
Fantasy for Trombone and Orchestra by Paul Creston
Student of Colin Williams
Zachary Solano (BM ’25), tuba
Reflections on the Mississippi by Michael Daugherty
Student of Kyle Turner
2024 Eisenberg-Fried Competition Woodwinds winner Jonah Murphy (BM '22, MM '24), flute, performing as a featured soloist with the MSM Symphony Orchestra conducted by JoAnn Falletta on February 13, 2025.
MSM would also like to extend a thank you to the esteemed jury members across the competition.
Piano
Igal Kesselman, Lowell Liebermann, Mikhail Voskresensky, and Asaf Zohar
Strings
Ettore Causa, Jesse Mills, John Popham, Ann Setzer, and Caleb van der Swaagh
Voice
Thomas Lausmann, Jason Tramm, and Sarah Wolfson
Woodwinds
Graeme Steele Johnson, Daniel Shelly, and Leo Sussman
Brass
Carlos Jiménez Fernández, Barbara Jostlein Currie, and Chris Martin
