Congratulations Winners!
2026 Competition
A Naples Tradition for 55 Years!
The Music Foundation of Greater Naples has been providing an opportunity for local students to demonstrate their talent to a panel of qualified independent judges for over 5 decades. The Competition is open to all students from 6th to 12 grades and winners are based on the merits of their performance. We are pleased to present the results for this year's competition.​
2026 Prizes
Junior Division
Senior Division
1st Place: $500
2nd Place: $400
3rd Place: $300
Honorable Mention: $100
1st Place: $750
2nd Place: $600
3rd Place: $500
Honorable Mention: $200
NOTE: Judges' Awards
Each year, the number of students applying for the scholarship competition varies, as does the distribution of competitors across instruments and categories (i.e., strings, and woodwinds). In some cases, there are fewer competitors than available awards (i.e., first, second, third, and honorable mention). In these situations, the judges are given the flexibility to grant a Judges’ Award based on the merit of individual performances.
For the Judges’ Awards listed below, the prize amount shown next to each recipient reflects the placement assigned by the judges based on their evaluation.
2026 Winners
Brass
Junior Category Winners
Judges' Award: Liza Chernyavskaya ($500; 8th - Grade)
Senior Category Winners
1st Place: Jocelyn Chalick (11th Grade)
2nd Place: Fintan O'Keefe (12th Grade)
Piano
Junior Category Winners
1st Place: Timofey Gybin (6th Grade)
2nd Place: Alexandra Akmuradova (8th Grade)
3rd Place: Efes Tunali (6th Grade)
Honorable Mention:
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Katherine Jiang (7th Grade)
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Sebastian Stefaniuk (6th Grade)
Senior Category Winners
1st Place: Marharyta Yehorova (10th Grade)
Honorable Mention: Celine Ruthza Eldira (12th Grade)
Percussion
Junior Category Winners
Judges' Awards:
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Lincoln Leslie ($500 - 8th Grade)
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Attila Videki Ginsberg ($400 - 7th Grade)
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Senior Category Winners
Judges' Award: Landon Leslie ($600 - 10th Grade)
Strings
Junior Category Winners
1st Place: Eloise Filner (6th Grade)
2nd Place: Teagan McDonald (8th Grade)
3rd Place: Anya Zhang (6th Grade)
Honorable Mention: Sarah Garatejo (8th Grade)
Senior Category Winners
1st Place: Katherine Anderson (11th Grade)
2nd Place: Brayden McDonald (10th Grade)
3rd Place: Mary Rose Dorta (11th Grade)
Honorable Mention:
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Juliet Sanchez (10th Grade)
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Melanie Stiegler (12th Grade)
Woodwinds
Junior Category Winners:
1st Place: Mia Berguido (8th Grade)
2nd Place: Isabella Vallejo (8th Grade)
3rd Place: Luke Alvarez (8th Grade)
Honorable Mention: Zoe Oomah (8th Grade)
Senior Category Winners:
Clarinet/Bass Clarinet:
1st Place: Kevin Milord (12th Grade)
2nd Place: Lance Julian (11th Grade)
3rd Place: Aidan Allgor (11th Grade)
Honorable Mention: Trevor Ball (12th Grade)
Mixed Winds (Flute, Oboe, Saxophone):
1st Place: Miranda Leone (11th Grade)
2nd Place: Maximus Bogert (11th Grade)
3rd Place: Josue Alarcon-Osorio (11th Grade)
Honorable Mention: Landon Hicks (12th Grade)
Voice
Junior Category Winners
1st Place: Ines Cecelia Enad (6th Grade)
2nd Place: Ingrid Carlson (6th Grade)
3rd Place: Emir Bilen (6th Grade)
Honorable Mention: Irene Sofia Enad (6th Grade)
Senior Category Winners
1st Place: Rachel Kastner (11th Grade)
2nd Place: Sydney Ernst (9th Grade)
2026 Hammes Award Winner
TBD
ABOUT THE HAMMES AWARD
Gordon and Judy Hammes, longtime supporters of the Music Foundation, endowed the Hammes award to encourage the recipient in the serious study of music. The Award favors consideration of candidates who intend to pursue a career in music or for whom music will be a serious avocation. Eligible candidates must be in the 12th Grade and have participated in the MFGN Scholarship Competition. We are grateful for Gordon and Judy's unwavering support throughout the years.
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