March 19, 2025

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.

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

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