The Medalist Concert Band is pleased to continue its sponsorship of an annual performance competition for high school band students. Named for a long-time music educator and the original conductor of the Medalist Concert Band, the Earl C. Benson Concerto Competition is now in its sixteenth year.
The purposes of the competition are to identify talented wind and percussion musicians and to encourage high school students to pursue further musical study. In doing so, the competition supports one of the key tenets of the Medalist Concert Bandʼs mission statement: to provide young musicians with a model of music as a lifelong hobby.
Ella Kahnert | 2026 Competition Winner
Ella Kahnert is a senior at St. Paul Central High School, where she participates on band, orchestra, and choir. She and has been playing the French Horn for 9 years, and has been the principal of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies top orchestra for the past two years. She plans on pursuing French Horn performance in college next year, with hopes of playing professionally in the future. Outside of music she loves theatre and visual art.
EARL C. BENSON COMPETITION WINNERS
2010 | Carley Olson, clarinet | Watertown-Mayer HS
2011 | Timothy Morris, euphonium | Hopkins HS
2012 | Hallie Houser, flute | Eastview HS
2013 | Brandon Caplin, percussion | Apple Valley HS
2013 | Kaitlyn Mann, clarinet | Rosemount HS
2014 | Olivia Nichols, alto saxophone | Eastview HS
2015 | Brenna Sherman, flute | Rochester Lourdes HS
2016 | Anders Peterson, clarinet | Northfield HS
2017 | Lauren Swee, trombone | Waconia HS
2018 | Duncan Henry, bassoon | Prior Lake HS
2019 | Adam Pazandak, alto saxophone | Bloomington Jefferson HS
2020 | Joe Mahin, euphonium | Wayzata HS
2022 | Jacob Welch, alto saxophone | Lakeville South HS
2023 | Arlo Hollander, trombone | Robbinsdale Cooper HS
2024 | Christian Garner, trumpet | Minnetonka HS
2025 | Ryan Vecchio, tuba | Edina HS
2026 | Ella Kahnert, French horn | St. Paul Central HS
Upcoming Performances
Join our mailing list
Subscribe to our email newsletter to learn about upcoming concerts.
