20th Anniversary Competition Events
Junior Division - April 12, 2025
Senior Division - April 26, 2025


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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
Seal Quartet Takes Top Honors at the 2025 Saint Paul String Quartet Competition (Junior Division)
SAINT PAUL, MN — April 12, 2025 — The 2025 Saint Paul String Quartet Competition (SPSQC) Junior Division, the nation’s premier event for high school string quartets, was held on Saturday, April 12. Selected from a competitive pool of applicants representing cities from Los Angeles to New York, seven exceptional high school ensembles advanced to the live competition, which featured three rounds adjudicated by the renowned Pacifica Quartet.
Each ensemble brought a unique voice to the stage, demonstrating remarkable preparation and artistry. The audience responded enthusiastically, casting 1,142 votes for the coveted Audience Prize.
Top honors went to the SEAL Quartet from the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts / Ed and Mari Edelman Chamber Music Institute in Los Angeles, who claimed both the Gold Medal and the Haydn Prize. The Caspian String Quartet, from the Music Institute of Chicago, earned Silver Medals and the BIPOC Prize, while the Porphyrion Quartet, also from the Music Institute of Chicago, received the Bronze Medal.
The Audience Prize was shared by the Lyra Quartet and Raemonia Quartet, both representing the Preparatory Program at the Community Music School at Webster University. Quartetto Speranza, from Midwest Young Artists, and Quartet Selene, from the Artaria Chamber Music School, were awarded Honorary Certificates for their performances in the BIPOC Round. Quartetto Speranza also received an Honorable Mention for their Final Round performance.
The Final Round jury for the 2025 SPSQC was the Pacifica Quartet. Selection jurors for the Junior Division included Christopher Costanza (St. Lawrence String Quartet), Korine Fujiwara (Carpe Diem Quartet), Ryan Meehan (Calidore String Quartet), and Rachel Shapiro (Aeolus Quartet).

QR code to VOTE!
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 Senior Division Finalist Quartets
Message from
Composer Dinuk Wijeratne
2025 Junior Division Finalist Quartets
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

Jerusalem Quartet
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
2025 EMCEES
Steve Seel
Alison Young
Junior Division - April 12, 2025
Senior Division - April 26, 2025
