The Wilcox Award was established in 1945 to perpetuate the memory of Minnie Sneed Wilcox, who founded the club in 1923 and served as president until her death in 1941.
Recipients of this award are the first, second place, and (since2026) third place winners among 9th through 11th grade contestants in the high school competition. Due to the pandemic, no competition for these grades was held in 2020 and 2021. The first place award is $2600, the second place award is $2400 and the third place award (new in 2026) is $2200.
The Wilcox Awards are supported by the club budget, individual contributions, earned interest, and the Steinway Piano Gallery of Austin.
Winners of the Wilcox Award since 2005 are as follows:
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2026
1st place: Ellie Washecka, viola
2nd place: Zhaoxi Chen, violin
3rd place: Alana Malloy, piano
Honorable Mention: Zongyan (Daniel) Li, violin; Dylan Zhong, violin; Nikhil Srinivasan, baritone voice; Franklin Fang, viola; Richard Wang, piano
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2025
1st place: Brendan Tark, Piano
2nd place: Lerchen Zhong, Violin
Honorable Mention: Alexander Zhong, Viola; Zongyan (Daniel) Li, Violin; Brigid Dever, Cello
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2024
1st place: Josephine Chow, Piano
2nd place: Lerchen Zhong, Piano
Honorable Mention: Vincent Cao, Piano; Jonathan Simon, Tenor; Jenny Thomas, Violin
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2023
1st place: Jiaton Gao, Piano
2nd place: Peter Kim, Violi
Honorable Mention: Nadia Verlinksy, Flute; Yochen Zhong, Cello; Lerchen Zhong, Violin; Vincent Cao, Piano; Joseph Zhang, Violin
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2022 Thomas Nguyen, Piano———Peter Kim, Violin
2019 Kellan Cao, Piano ———- Sophia Amalia Ayer, Violin
2018 Eliot Kim, Violin ——— Kevin Yu, Piano
2017 Margaret Seo, Violin ——– Corbin King, Tenor
2016 Jonathan Qi, Piano ——– Isabelle Hsiao, Piano
2015 Eunice Lee, Piano —— Juhee Suh, Violin
2014 Grace Song, Violin —— Edward Wang, Piano
2013 Rebecca Chen, Piano —— Daniel Smarda, Flute
2012 Christopher Henselman, Piano —— Edward Wang, Piano
2011 Steven Lai, Piano —— Wells Leng, Piano
2010 Danny Chen, Violin and Katie Velasquez, Flute (tie) —— Jessica Hwang, Piano
2009 Michelle Suh, Violin —– Danny Chen, Violin
2008 Jonathan Chang, Violin —— Jonathan Torkelson, Violin
2007 Nola Lu, Piano —— Christina Torkelson, Piano
2006 Stephanie Chen, Piano —— Joseph O’Hara, Saxophone