The nation’s first chamber music competition to evaluate both artistic excellence and creative event design returns, now in a new single-concert format on Southern Exposure. Competing for a grand prize residency in 2020-21 at UofSC valued at $10,000, three finalist ensembles, selected in the fall from a pool of more than 50 applicants, will each perform 20-minute sets. The 2020 finalist groups are: the Beo String Quartet; RighteousGIRLS, flute and piano duo; and Founders, a quintet comprised of violin, cello, bass, trumpet, and clarinet. Beo will be performing a program that traces the evolution of the string quartet, including a triple quartet written by the group’s violinist, Sean Neukom. RighteousGIRLS takes aim at UofSC graduate Andy Akiho’s 21 in an innovative arrangement that includes electronics and improvisation. Founders re-imagine and respond to Olivier Messiaen’s 20th-century masterpiece, Quartet for the End of Time.