Concours Musical International de Montréal’s New Jury Members

Canadian violinist Malcolm Lowe has stepped in as one of seven jurors for the violin division, which has also named a new jury president

The violin edition of the annual Concours Musical International de Montréal (CMIM) began on April 22 and will continue through to May 4, 2023. A total of 24 participants aged between 17 and 27 are competing for nearly $160,000 CAD in prizes. Tune in to watch the competition on The Violin Channel.

Joining the competition jury is Malcolm Lowe, replacing former jury member Salvatore Accardo, who is unable to travel from Milan for health reasons. Lowe recently retired as concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, following a 35-year tenure. 

Additionally, American director and administrator Richard Rodzinski has been announced as the President of the Jury for CMIM’s violin division — a role led by Zarin Mehta in previous editions. 

Rodzinski has worked at the San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and has been president and executive director at the Van Cliburn Foundation, where he led Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions for over 25 years. 

Other 2023 CMIM jury members include Koichiro Harada, Yura Lee, Michaela Martin, Lucie Robert, Dmitri Sitkovetsky, and Krishna Thiagarajan.

CMIM’s 24 candidates were selected from a record of 248 applications from 37 countries. The first prize will be $80,000, second place at $15,000, and third prize is $10,000. 

Additional awards include the People’s Choice Award, Best Canadian Artist, Best Interpretation of a Sonata, Best performance of a work by J.S. Bach, Best performance of an imposed Canadian work, among others. Additionally, there is the Normand Beauchamp Winner’s Tour to Three North American Cities, worth $15,000.

Past winners include VC Young Artist Hao Zhou, plus VC Artists Ayana Tsuji, Bomsori Kim, Minami Yoshida, Benjamin Beilman, Nikita Borioso-Glebsky, Stephen Waarts, Marc Bouchkov, and Fedor Rudin.

As one of the CMIM’s official 2023 media partners, The Violin Channel will be providing exclusive rolling coverage – live from all venues.