“24-year-old Venezuelan-born violinist Samuel Abraham Vargas Teixeira is the first-prize winner in the senior division of the 2021 Sphinx Competition,” reads an unsigned report in Saturday’s (1/30) Violin Channel. “A student of Sergiu Schwartz at Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music, Samuel will receive the US $50,000 Robert Frederick Smith Prize plus invitations to make a number of significant solo debuts. Second and third prizes in this year’s senior division were awarded to bassist Christian Gray and cellist Luis Fernando Venturelli. First prize in the 17 years and under junior division was awarded to 12-year-old violinist Amaryn Olmeda. Second and third prizes were presented to violinist Jonathan Okseniuk and violist Dillon Scott. Detroit-based, the Sphinx Organization is a U.S. based non-profit organization dedicated to diversifying the arts…. Achievement Awards were presented to cellist Brandon Leonard and violinist Paul Aguilar. The 2021 jury comprised: Jennifer Arnold, Joel Krosnick, Tai Murray, Philippe Quint, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Matthew Van Besien, and VC Artist Milena Pajarovan de Stadt.” Sphinx Organization President and Artistic Director Afa Dworkin said, “What a privilege we have to support their careers and build a network so that they may innovate and collaborate.”
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