Winners of the 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition

The ISB Double Bass Competition was held June 2-3, 2025. Mark Morton, professor of double bass at Texas Tech University, served as chair of the competition. The eight divisions were: Solo, Jazz, and Orchestra, with competitors from age 19 to 30; Youth Solo, Youth Jazz, and Youth Orchestra, with competitors from age 15 to 18; Age 14 & Under; and Age 10 & Under. The competitions were open to the public.

The International Society of Bassists gratefully thanks the administration of the Florida State University College of Music for hosting its biennial competition and convention, George Speed and Rodney Jordan, site co-chairs.

Solo Division

(Pictured above, L to R) 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition Solo Division Chair Thierry Barbe, Competition Chair Mark Morton, Siheon Ryu, Max Winningham and Markus Lang. Photo by Shane Kiser

JUDGES: Thierry Barbe, Division Chair; Zhaoyang Chang, Wei Yung-Chiao, Tian Yang Liu, Marcos Machado and Andres Martin

• Gary Karr Prize $5,000 and a performance at the 2027 ISB Convention — Siheon Ryu, South Korea
• Second Prize $2,500 — Max Winningham, USA
• Third Prize — Markus Lang, USA

Jazz Division

(Pictured above, L to R) 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition Jazz Division Chair Marlene Rosenberg; Guillermo Lopez, Bar Filipowicz and Frederick Bish. Photo by Shane Kiser

JUDGES: Marlene Rosenberg, Division Chair; Lou Fischer, Rodney Jordan and Matthew Rybicki

• Scott LaFaro Prize $5,000 and a performance at the 2027 ISB Convention — Guillermo Lopez, USA
• Second Prize $2,500 — Bar Filipowicz, Israel
• Third Prize $1,000 — Frederick Bish, USA

Orchestra Division

(Pictured above, L to R) 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition Orchestra Division Chair Scott Haigh; Rauno Meneses-Halmari, Remy Howard, and Tim Rinehart. Photo by Shane Kiser

JUDGES: Scott Haigh, Division Chair, Scott Dixon, Davis Pierson, Brian Perry, Jack Unzicker, Ron Wasserman

First Prize of an expenses-paid week with the Houston Symphony Orchestra — Tim Rinehart, USA
The Scott Haigh Prize $2,500 given by the Unified Retirement Planning Group — Remy Howard, USA
Third Prize $1,000 — Rauno Meneses-Halmari, USA

Youth Solo Division

(Pictured above, L to R) 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition Youth Solo Division Chair Christine Hoock; Yoonji Huh, Harry Barnett, and Antoni Trzesniewski. Photo by Shane Kiser

JUDGES: Christine Hoock, Division Chair; Luis Cabrera, Barry Green, Jackie Pickett, and Patricia Weitzel

• First Prize $2,500 — Harry Barnett, USA
• Second Prize $1,000 — Yoonji Huh, South Korea
• Third Prize $500 — Antoni Trzesniewski, Poland

Youth Jazz Division

(Pictured above, L to R) 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition Youth Jazz Division Chair Mike Forfia; Isaac Ballif, Madalena Kozol, Ethan Steiner, and Samuel Dominguez. Photo by Shane Kiser

JUDGES: Mike Forfia, Division Chair; Brian Hall, Casey Lipka, and Martin Wind

First Prize $2,500 — Isaac Ballif, USA
Second Prize $1,000 — Madalena Kozol, USA
Third Prize $500 given by Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Mapp — Ethan Steiner, USA
Honorable Mention — Samuel Dominguez, USA

Youth Orchestra Division

(Pictured above, L to R) 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition Youth Orchestra Division Chair Sean Casey, Cade Peckham, and Brandon Garcia (not pictured: Kevin Porter). Photo by Shane Kiser

JUDGES: Sean Casey, Division Chair; Andrea Beyer, Renata Soares Caceres, Andrew Moritz, Sam Suggs, and Russell Thompson

• First Prize $2,500 given by Orin O'Brien — Cade Peckham, USA
• Second Prize $1,000 — Kevin Porter, USA
• Third Prize $500 given by David Murray — Brandon Garcia, USA

Age 14 & Under Division

(Pictured above, L to R) 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition Age 14 & Under Division prizewinners Ye Eun Kim, Georgia Serdar, Mikolaj Kabaczuk, and Christopher Mertz. Photo by Shane Kiser

JUDGES: Tracy Rowell, Division Chair; Christian Abreu, Susan Cahill, Caroline Emery, Johnny Hamil, and Nick Scales

• First Prize $500 — Ye Eun Kim, South Korea
• Second Prize $250 given by John & Penny Schimek — Georgia Serdar, USA
• Third Prize $100 — Mikolaj Kabaczuk, Poland
• Honorable Mention — Christopher Mertz

Age 10 & Under Division

(Pictured above, L to R) 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition Age 10 & Under Division Chair Tracy Rowell, Annelise Reidhead, Charles Smith, Caspian Stokes, and James "Hudson" Austin, III. Photo by Shane Kiser

JUDGES: Tracy Rowell, Division Chair; Christian Abreu, Susan Cahill, Caroline Emery, Johnny Hamil, and Nick Scales

• First Prize $500 given by Gaelen McCormick — Annelise Reidhead, USA
• Second Prize $250 given by Derek Weller — Caspian Stokes, USA
• Third Prize $100 given by Tracy Rowell & Henry Peyrebrune — Charles Smith, USA
• Honorable Mention — James "Hudson" Austin, III, USA

Convention Gold Sponsor Pirastro GmbH has donated a set of steel or synthetic core strings to the first prizewinner in divisions age 15 and up in the 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition.

Carl Fischer Music has donated a copy of Orin O'Brien's Double Bass Notebook to prizewinners in the orchestra divisions of the 2025 ISB Double Bass Competition.

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