Briggs Chamber Music Competition
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.
The 2025 Competition was held on April 5 at Britton Recital Hall.
The Briggs 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 annual competition was launched in 2014, with guest judges selecting winners from groups representing the breadth of SMTD’s chamber music offerings.

Dale and Nancy Briggs pose with student performers at a past competition.
Cerus Quartet: 2023 First Prize Winners
Prizes
First Prize: $5,000
Second Prize: $3,000
Third Prize: $2,000
Honorable Mention(s): $500
Michigan Composition Prize: $2,000 for best performance of a piece written by a University of Michigan composer (either a current student or a graduate from the classes of 2019-2023)
Eligibility
Open to any instrumentation/voice types in unconducted groups of 3-10 members. Every member of an entering group must be enrolled at the University of Michigan in winter semester 2024.
Repertoire
As part of their application, groups must submit a repertoire list with at least 40 minutes of music and at least two complete works. The remainder of the list may be individual movements or other shorter works. Every repertoire list will be evaluated for rigor before applications are accepted, and programming choices will factor into adjudication. The makeup of the ensemble should remain consistent throughout your selections.
2025 Competition
Briggs Chamber Music Competition
Saturday, April 5, 2025 | 12:30pm
Britton Recital Hall
Matt Albert, Director
Judges (3 total)
- Lisa Kaplan, piano, Eighth Blackbird
- Jonathan Nichol, saxophone, H2 Quartet / University of Oklahoma
- Deborah Pae, cello, Formosa Quartet / Eastern Michigan University
2025 Winners
First Prize:
Zephyr Trio
Mia Cotton, flute
Selina Langfeldt, oboe
Jiyeon Lee, piano
Second Prize:
Evergreen Quartet
Makaela Foerderer, violin
Solveig Geenen, violin
Isabel Aronin, viola
Dayoung Park, cello
Third Prize:
Trio Laval
Jordan Bartel, violin
Sarina Zhang, cello
Sean Terada Yang, piano
Michigan Prize:
The Myriad Project
For: Cole Reyes, to what we hold dear
Honorable Mention:
The Myriad Project
Emily Brownlee, oboe
Donald Schweikert, bassoon
Daniel Fecteau, electric violin and loop station
Honorable Mention:
Modello Trio
Ting-Yu Yeh, flute
Solomon Sigmon, clarinet
Emma Fu, piano
Past Winners
Trio Con Fuoco
Recapping the 2024 Briggs Chamber Music Competition
Cerus Quartet