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2024 Cynthia Woods Mitchell - Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition

  • 2024 Winners

    Cynthia Woods Mitchell-Ima Hogg Competition Finals

    Sunday, June 9 | 2:00 p.m.

    Dudley Recital Hall

    Free Admission

    The Cynthia Woods Mitchell - Ima Hogg Competition is open to all Texas Music Festival Orchestra Fellows and College Piano Institute pianists.

    The winner, chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, will perform on Saturday, June 22 under the baton of Maestro Hans Graf at the Moores Opera House. The soloist will also be invited to perform with the Houston Symphony during its 2024-2025 season.

    All finalists will receive a cash prize and a medal. 1st ($3000), 2nd ($2,000), 3rd ($1000), and 4th ($750) place prizes will be awarded as well as an Audience Favorite Prize ($500). The Texas Music Festival is grateful for its partnership with the Houston Symphony and to the underwriters of the prizes.

     jonah-murphy-photo.jpg

    First Prize: Jonah Murphy, flute | Brooklyn, New York

    Underwritten by Lilly and Thurmon Andress in loving memory of Lilly's mother, Jean Whitbread Kucera

    Jonah Murphy (MM ’24) is a graduate student in flute and composition at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under Michael Parloff (flute) and J. Mark Stambaugh (composition). He has received first prizes in the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition and the New York Flute Club Competition, along with awards from YoungArts, the Alexander & Buono International Flute Competition, the International Virtuoso Competition, and the Lillian Fuchs Competition in chamber performance (four times). His chamber group, the Jonimey Trio, was selected for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s 2023–2024 mentorship program.
         Jonah has performed in masterclasses with Stefan Hoskuldsson, Nicholas Duchamp, Mark Sparks, Mindy Kaufman, Robert Langevin, Julien Beaudiment, Michael Cox, Jennifer Gunn, and others. He teaches young flute students at the Association of Dominican Classical Artists’ Washington Heights Community Conservatory of Fine Arts and is the flutist for the ADCA Orchestra and the chamber ensemble La Camerata Washington Heights.
         As an active composer, Mr. Murphy has won awards from ASCAP, YoungArts, NextNotes, the National Young Composers Challenge, Mata Jr., and the Chamber Music Society of Rochester [NY]. His works have been performed by PubliQuartet, the Mivos Quartet, Tilt Brass, Mobius Percussion, the Kāj Ensemble, the Manhattan Brass Quintet, and other ensembles.

     

    Second Prize: Han Sol Jeong, piano Christchurch, New Zealand

    Underwritten by David R. Voll in loving memory of Dianna Gibbs Voll

     

    Third Prize: Takeru Niihara, violin Hiroshima, Japan

    Underwritten by Nancy McCormick

     

    Fourth Prize: Fiona Tsang, cello San Jose, California

    Underwritten by Dr. Keith A. Butcher in memory of Katherine G. McGovern

     

    Audience Choice: Izaiah Gonzalez, marimba | Harlingen, Texas

    Underwritten by Darlene Clark and Edwin Friedrichs to provide encouragement and recognition of ongoing commitment to excellence

     

    Finalists: Andrew Bell, bassoon; Christian Harvey, double bass; Uicheol Uhm, piano

     

     

    Panel of Judges

    Diego Caetano, piano faculty | Sam Houston State University

    Adam Dinitz, English Horn | Houston Symphony 

    Gonzalo Farias, Assistant Conductor | Houston Symphony

    Chris French, Associate Principal Cello | Houston Symphony

    Richard Harris, trumpet | Houston Symphony 

    Ian Mayton, French horn | Houston Symphony 

    Sophia Silivos, violin | Houston Symphony

  • About the Competition

    The Cynthia Woods Mitchell - Ima Hogg Competition is open to all Texas Music Festival Orchestra Fellows and College Piano Institute pianists.

    All finalists will receive a cash prize and a medal. 1st ($3000), 2nd ($2,000), 3rd ($1000), and 4th ($750) place prizes will be awarded as well as an Audience Favorite Prize ($500). 

    Subject to approval of the conductor and the availability of orchestral parts, the 1st place winner will perform with the Festival Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Hans Graf at the Moores Opera House June 22, 2024. 

    The 1st place winner will also be invited to perform with the Houston Symphony in the 2024-2025 season.

    The Texas Music Festival is grateful for its partnership with the Houston Symphony and to the underwriters of the prizes: 

    • First Prize: Underwritten by Lilly and Thurmon Andress in loving memory of Lilly's mother, Jean Whitbread Kucera
    • Second Prize: Underwritten by David R. Voll in loving memory of Dianna Gibbs Voll
    • Third Prize: Underwritten by Nancy McCormick
    • Fourth Prize: Underwritten by Dr. Keith A. Butcher in memory of Katherine G. McGovern
    • Audience Choice: Underwritten by Darlene Clark and Edwin Friedrichs to provide encouragement and recognition of ongoing commitment to excellence
  • Competition Requirements

    • Repertoire Requirements
      • Competitors may compete with one movement from a standard work for solo instrument(s) and orchestra (one movement of a concerto or one-movement works are acceptable. If a full concerto meets the time limit, it is also acceptable.)
      • Total length not to exceed 15 minutes, including full orchestral tuttis. 
      • Please contact the TMF Office if you have questions about the eligibility of any work for competition.
      • Orchestral parts and scores must be readily available.
    • Work must be performed entirely from memory throughout the competition.
    • Competitors must bring, and provide, a piano score for the Preliminary Round. Piano score must be an orchestral reduction.
  • Competition Dates

    • Preliminary Round: Wednesday, June 5
      • PIANO: 2 p.m.
      • ORCHESTRAL INST.: 7 p.m.
      • Competitors will only be allowed an 8-12 minute performance time.
    • Final Round: Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m.
      • Final Round is open to the public and competitors will be allowed the full time required to perform their piece or movement.

Past Winners

  • History of the Competition

    The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition was founded at the inception of the Texas Music Festival in 1990 by George and Cynthia Mitchell to provide a competition experience for members of the festival orchestra. Today, the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation continues this generous legacy and is honored to be collaborating with the Houston Symphony on the new Cynthia Woods Mitchell-Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition.

    In 2023, The University of Houston and Houston Symphony merged the University of Houston’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition and the Houston Symphony’s Ima Hogg Competition. The winner of the competition will now have the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Texas Music Festival Orchestra, and the Houston Symphony will extend an invitation for the winner to perform alongside the symphony in the following season.

    The Mitchell-Hogg Competition is open to all Texas Music Festival Orchestra members and College Piano Institute participants, who are chosen through a competitive audition process. Up to eight finalists may be selected for the competition’s open-to-the-public final round. First, second and third place prizes are awarded, as well as an Audience Choice prize.

    “The Ima Hogg Competition has a nearly 50-year storied history, one that was only interrupted by the pandemic,” said John Mangum, Houston Symphony executive director, CEO, and holder of the Margaret Alkek Williams Chair. “As we considered its future, it made complete sense to join forces with the prestigious Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition at the University of Houston’s Texas Music Festival. Both organizations are deeply committed to creating opportunities for young people to connect with music, so it seemed like a natural partnership. It’s very exciting to combine resources to create something for these emerging artists: a new competition that’s even greater than the sum of its parts.”

  • 2023

    First Place & Audience Favorite Prize
    Xayvion Davidson, bassoon | Rossini: Bassoon Concerto

    Second Place
    Lorien Britt, flute | Devienne: Flute Concerto No. 7

    Third Place
    Momoko Uchida, violin | Vitali: Chaconne

  • 2022

    First Place
    Joshua Liu, violin | Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major

    Second Place & Audience Favorite Prize
    William Ramos, bassoon | von Weber: Andante and Hungarian Rondo

    Third Place
    Alex Carroll, double bass | Vanhal: Concerto for Double Bass

  • 2019

    First Place
    Brian Bires, viola | Forsyth: Viola Concerto in G minor, Mvt. I

    Second Place
    Evan Schnurr, clarinet | Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57, Allegretto un poco

    Second Place Tie & Audience Favorite Prize
    Yue Yang, violin | Ravel: Tzigane

    Finalists
    Mark Lauer, bassoon | Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major, Mvt. I
    Ayrton Pisco, violin | Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, Mvt. III

  • 2018

    First Place
    Andres Vela, double bass | Vanhal: Double Bass Concerto in D Major, Mvt. I

    Second Place & Audience Favorite Prize
    Lucas Sanchez, timpani | Fischer: Symphony with Eight Obbligato Timpani

    Third Place
    Sabrina Bounds, flute | Devienne: Flute Concerto No. 7 in E Minor, Mvt. I

    Finalists
    Julianne Mulvey, bassoon | Mozart: Bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major, Mvt. I
    Karl Zhu, violin | Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219, Mvt. I

  • 2017

    First Place
    Matthew Lee, violin
  • 2016

    First Place
    Juan Esteban Martinez, clarinet
  • 2015

    First Place
    Yuan Tian, violin
  • 2014

    First Place
    Caitlin Mehrtens, harp
  • 2013

    First Place
    Jessica Findley, bassoon
  • 2012

    First Place
    Xiao Wang, violin
  • 2011

    First Place
    Lachezar Kostov, cello
  • 2010

    First Place
    Shuaili Du, violin
  • 2009

    First Place
    Yi-Chun Lin, violin
  • 2008

    First Place
    Kristin King, clarinet
  • 2007

    First Place
    Meredith Clark, harp
  • 2006

    First Place
    Amber Archibald, viola
  • 2005

    First Place
    Joanna Messer, flute
a casual orchestra rehearsal, with Josep Caballé-Domenech