On Saturday, April 5, the 2025 Dale and Nancy Briggs Chamber Music Competition was held in Britton Recital Hall. Hosted by the Department of Chamber Music, the Briggs Competition was created to encourage the excellence of chamber music performance at SMTD and to provide performance opportunities for small ensembles. This year’s competition featured 11 student ensembles.
The competition jury consisted of Lisa Kaplan, piano (Eighth Blackbird), Jonathan Nichol, saxophone (H2 Quartet, University of Oklahoma), and Deborah Pae, cello (Formosa Quartet, Eastern Michigan University).
The 2025 Briggs Competition judges pose with First Prize winners from the Zephyr Trio. From left: Lisa Kaplan, Mia Cotton, Selina Langfeldt, Jiyeon Lee, Jonathan Nichol, Deborah Pae, and the competition director Matt Albert.
SMTD is pleased to recognize this year’s winners.
Photography by Colin McCall
First Prize: Zephyr Trio
The Zephyr Trio (from left): Mia Cotton, Jiyeon Lee, Selina Langfeldt
First prize was won by the Zephyr Trio, which consists of Mia Cotton (BM ’25) on flute, Selina Langfeldt (BM ’25) on oboe, and Jiyeon Lee (MM ’26) on piano.
Second Prize: Evergreen Quartet
Evergreen Quartet (from left): Makaela Foerderer, Solveig Geenen, Dayoung Park, Isabel Aronin
Evergreen Quartet – with Makaela Foerderer (MM ’26) on violin, Solveig Geenen (MM ’25) on violin, Isabel Aronin (MM ’26) on viola, and Dayoung Park (MM ’25) on cello – won second prize in the competition.
Third Prize: Trio Laval
Trio Laval (from left): Sean Terada Yang, Jordan Bartel, Sarina Zhang
Third prize went to Trio Laval, with Jordan Bartel (SM ’25) on violin, Sarina Zhang (DMA ’25) on cello, and Sean Terada Yang (MM ’25) on piano.
Honorable Mention & Michigan Composition Prize: The Myriad Project
The Myriad Project (from left): Daniel Fecteau, Donald Schweikert, Emily Brownlee
The Myriad Project, with Emily Brownlee (SM ’25) on oboe, Donald Schweikert (MM ’25) on bassoon, and Daniel Fecteau (MM ’25) on electric violin and loop station, took Honorable Mention and won the Michigan Composition Prize. To be considered for the Michigan Composition Prize, which is given to the best performance of a piece written by a current or former SMTD composition student, the Myriad Project performed to what we hold dear, a composition by Cole Reyes (DMA ’26).
Honorable Mention: Modello Trio
Modello Trio (from left): Ting-Yu Yeh, Emma Fu, Solomon Sigmon
Also receiving Honorable Mention was the Modello Trio, with Ting-Yu Yeh (BM ’25) on flute, Solomon Sigmon (BM ’25) on clarinet, and Emma Fu (BMA ’25) on piano.
This annual competition is made possible by support from the Dale & Nancy Briggs Chamber Music Endowed Enrichment Fund and is named in honor of its benefactors. The fund was established in 2004 and endowed in 2006, to support program and/or scholarship needs in chamber music. The competition was launched in 2014, with guest judges selecting winners from groups representing the breadth of SMTD’s chamber music offerings.
Awards Reception Snapshots
