20th Anniversary Competition Events
Junior Division - April 12, 2025
Senior Division - April 26, 2025
A FABULOUS experience!
-- Annie Fullard, Cavani String Quartet
Naumburg Chamber Music Award winner and Director of Chamber Music at the Peabody Institute.
We loved being able to take part in something so special and uplifting to student musicians.
-- SPSQC prizewinner
SPSQC 20th Annual Competition
The Final Rounds of the 2025 Saint Paul String Quartet Competition (SPSQC) will take place this April in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Junior (HS) and Senior (Pre-professional) divisions will each feature the finest young string quartets in the country. The Saint Paul String Quartet Competition (SPSQC) is open exclusively for String Quartets.
The SPSQC SENIOR DIVISION is open to U.S. and non-U.S. residents provided the age of each musician in the quartet is not more than 30 years on April 26, 2025. The SPSQC JUNIOR DIVISION is open to U.S. and non-U.S. residents not more than 19 years of age on April 12, 2025, and the person is not enrolled in a college degree program.
Applicants were selected by two distinguished jury panels:
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For the Senior Division selection jury members were Rachel Henderson Freivogel (Jasper Quartet), Jonathan Ong (Verona Quartet), John McGrosso (Arianna String Quartet), Renee Skerik (Artaria String Quartet).
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For the Junior Division the selection jury members were Christopher Costanza (St. Lawrence String Quartet), Korine Fujiwara (Carpe Diem Quartet), Ryan Meehan (Calidore String Quartet), Rachel Shapiro (Aeolus Quartet) .
Our distinguished final round juries will be the Pacifica Quartet (Junior Division) and the Jerusalem Quartet (Senior Division)
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The Junior division will be live broadcast on April 12, 2025
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The Senior division will be live broadcast on April 26, 2025
Our quartet won Gold & Grand prizes and the Lift Every Voice prize at the Fischoff!!! A huge, huge, thank you to you and all the other organizers of the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. Without our experience in St. Paul, we absolutely couldn't have done this. We really appreciate all that you have done!!"
-- SPSQC Gold Medalist Poiesis Quartet
I love SPSQC...it is truly a gem in our community... always amazing young string quartets
-- Laura Sewell. Cellist of the Lark Quartet & Artaria String Quartet. Bronze medal winner at the Banff International String Quartet Competition
2025 Junior Division Finalist Quartets
Caspian String Quartet
Lily Sullivan & Tristan Zhu violins
Vivian Van de Sype-Cucu, viola
Jan Vargas Nedvetsky, cello
Listen to the Interviews
in April
Quartet Selene
Lorelei Schoenhard & Layla Chakhvashvili, vlns
Emily Alexander, viola
Sophia Alexander, cello
Listen to the Interviews
in April
Seal Quartet
Rachel Wan & Brennan Wuchner, vlns
Jayden Kim, viola
Sophia Yoo, cello
Listen to the Interview
Lyra Quartet
Zoe Baldwin & Hayden Baker, violins
Reid Huntley, viola
Sylvia Kennedy, cello
Listen to the Interviews
in April
Quartetto Speranza
Cecilia O'Malley & Alison Chung, violins
Callia Murray, viola
Diego Dahle, cello
Listen to the Interviews
in April
Porphyrion Quartet
Sasha Varchenko & Mingshi Xia, violins
Neena Agrawal, viola
Simon Updegraff, cello
Listen to the Interviews
in April
Raemonia String Quartet
Eric Chen & Yejun Aiden Moon, violins
Katherine Nguyen, viola
Abigail Deeter, cello
Listen to the Interviews
in April
2025 Senior Division Finalist Quartets
DragonBoot Quartet
Katya Moeller & Catherine Carson, vlns
Sydney Whipple, viola
Lila Holyoke, cello
Listen to the Interview
Maple Quartet
Isabel Chen & Magali Pelletey, vns
John Crowley, viola
Gabriel Hennebury, cello
Listen to the Interview
Hesper Quartet
Valerie Kim & Ye jin Yoon, vlns
Sohui Yun, viola
Connor Kim, cello
Listen to the Interview
Trellis String Quartet
Leo Matsuoka & Dallas Noble, violins
Zach Levin, viola
Priscilla Kim, cello
Listen to the Interview
2025 Saint Paul String Quartet Competition
Finalist Interviews....(posted in April)
Junior Division
Caspian String Quartet
Junior Division
Lyra Quartet
Junior Division
Porphyrion Quartet
Junior Division
Quartet Selene
Junior Division
Quartetto Speranza
Junior Division
Raemonia String Quartet
Junior Division
Seal Quartet
Senior Division
DragonBoot Quartet
Senior Division
Hesper Quartet
Senior Division
Maple Quartet
Senior Division
Trellis String Quartet
2025 SPSQC Jurists
Pacifica Quartet
The renowned Pacifica Quartet will be giving a free public masterclass and performance on Friday, April 11 in Antonello Hall at MacPhail Center for Music. They will adjudicate the SPSQC Junior Division on Sat. April 12 in Sundin Music Hall on the campus of Hamline University.
Chamber Music Masterclass
In Recital @ MacPhail
The renowned Jerusalem Quartet will be giving a performance on Sunday, April 27 as part of Schubert Club's Music in the Park Series. They will adjudicate the SPSQC Senior Division on Sat. April 26 in Sundin Music Hall on the campus of Hamline University.
In Concert @ Schubert Club
Jerusalem Quartet
