Judges Dr. Jacquelyn Helin and Terri Reck carefully consider the performance of a young competitor in the 2025 Sonata Contest. Courtesy/LAMTA
First-place winners of the 2025 Sonata contest, from left starting on top row, Graydon Waters, Elizabeth Wang, Glyn Lo, David Robel, Riley Fensin, Cynthia Fu, Gavin Hu, Alice Chen and Anna Backhaus. Courtesy/LAMTA
Los Alamos Music Teachers Association News:
On Saturday Feb. 8, 2025, young pianists from Santa Fe and Los Alamos competed in the 2025 Sonata Contest, an annual event jointly hosted by the Santa Fe Music Teachers Association (SFMTA) and the Los Alamos Music Teachers Association (LAMTA).
The two esteemed judges for this year’s competition were Terri Reck of Albuquerque and Dr. Jacquelyn Helin of Santa Fe.
The first-place winners of each level will be guest artists at the first LAMTA Musicale recital of 2025, showcase their winning performances at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23 in Fuller Lodge. “The performance is free to attend, and we hope you can come and listen to our up-and-coming young artists!” –LAMTA
For a complete list of winners and more information about the Sonata Contest, please visit losalamosmusicteachers.org.
The Sonata Contest is open to all pre-college piano students studying with members of SFMTA and LAMTA, and pianists studying with non-members can compete for an extra fee.
The LAMTA and SFMTA are local chapters of the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico (PMTNM), which is a state chapter of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA).
First-Place Winners of the 2025 Sonata Contest
- Level 1: Graydon Waters (teacher: Dr. Patricia Wood);
- Level 2: Elizabeth Wang (teacher: Wendy Ge);
- Level 3: Glyn Lo (teacher: Wendy Ge);
- Level 4: David Robel (teacher: Dr. Haewon Yang);
- Level 5: Riley Fensin (teacher: Dr. Haewon Yang);
- Level 6: Cynthia Fu (teacher: Wendy Ge);
- Level 7: Gavin Hu (teacher: Dr. Patricia Wood);
- Level 8: Alice Chen (teacher: Dr. Patricia Wood); and
- Level 9: Anna Backhaus (teacher: Janna Warren).