Claire Givens fully supported the Arianna String Quartet as this year’s Final Round jury for the St. Paul String Quartet Competition. There were six exceptional young quartets this year from across the Midwest and our very own Melanzana Quartet won the Bronze medal (Evan Vicic, violin; Katherine Williamson, violin; Erin Gallagher, viola; Paul Leger, cello) The first prize went to the Viaggio String Quartet (Eric Gatz, violin; Anthony Bracewell, violin; Stephanie Price, viola; Ken Kuboto, cello) and second prize to Polaris (Andrea Jarrett, violin; Vincent Meklis, violin; Matthew Lipman, viola; Gabriel Cabezas, cello). For more information about the competition, visit www.spsqc.artaria.us.

Cellist Tina Jung, first place winner for the senior division, received the Claire Givens Violin Prize of $500. She also performed Max Bruch’s Kol Nidre during the fifth set of Great Winter Festival concerts. For more information about the Minnesota Sinfonia Young Artist Competition, visit their website.