Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition Showcase

Online

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Cook Recital Hall

1:00 pm

Total runtime for this concert is approximately 3.5 hours. There will be short breaks between each group’s twenty-minute performance, permitting attendees to exit and re-enter.

Now in its sixth year, the final round of the Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition features student ensembles from the College of Music delivering compelling performances as they vie for cash prizes and professional development opportunities. Selected by an esteemed panel of external jurors, the winners are announced at the close of the event—adding to the excitement of an afternoon filled with artistry and anticipation.

This chamber music competition program and concert is generously sponsored by Barbara E. Wagner.

Competing Groups (20 minutes each)

Click the links below to preview group bios with portraits (PDF). During the competition, judges will select 20 minutes of repertoire to perform for each group (see competitor’s program below).

Brown Squirrel Brass Quintet Calvin Pfund and Spencer Clark, trumpet; Zora Alfredson, horn; Korie Brewer, trombone; and Brian Wiik, tuba
Works include: The Iron Horse by Kevin Mckee, Ner Tamid by Madeline Lee, Brass Quintet No. 3 by Victor Ewald, and Sonatine by Eugene Bozza.

Tayovan Trio Hannah Hsu, violin; Te-Fen Cheng, clarinet; Shih-Wen Chiu, piano
Works include: Shogun Trio by Paul Chihara and Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano by Gian Carlo Menotti.

Red Cedar Quartet Arianna Argentieri and Daniella Greene, violin; Jiajing Fang, viola; and Yu-Chen Lin, cello
Works include: Strum by Jessie Montgomery, Quartet No. 1 by Zhou Tian, Quartet No. 3 in B flat major, and Op. 67 by Johannes Brahms.

–INTERMISSION–

Leonidas Brass Quartet Jordan Dove, trombone; David Grimes, trombone; Jonah Weller, bass trombone; Anderson Johnson, tuba
Works include: Ignition by Kevin Day, Concerto Grosso by Arcady Dubensky, Être ou ne pas être! byHenri Tomasi, Three Bruckner Motets by Anton Bruckner, Suite for 4 Trombones, op. 82 by Flor Peeters, and Oblivion by Katahj Copley.

Astra Quartet Parker Fritz, soprano saxophone; Emma Allen, alto saxophone; Ethan Roberts, tenor saxophone; Alex Lee, baritone saxophone.
Works include: Prodigal Child by John Fitz Rogers, Grave et Presto by Jean Rivier, In Memoriam by Joel Love, and Recitation Book, V. Fanfare/Variations on “Durch Adams Fall” by David Maslanka.

Lumière Trio Runqi Weng, violin; Cheng-Hung Chung, cello; Jingxuan Shen, piano
Works include: Piano Trio in B flat Major, Op. 97, “Archduke,”I. Allegro Moderato by Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 90, “Dumky” by Antonín Dvořák, Piano Trio by Zhou Tian, and “Manifesto” for Piano Trio by Shai Cohen.

Competition Judges

Benjamin Hoffman, Assistant Professor of Violin at Bowling Green State University
Ralph Skiano, Principal Clarinet, DSO
Robert White, Professor of Trumpet at Western Michigan University