Primrose International Viola Competition Announces 2024 Live Round Competitors

The Colburn School and the American Viola Society today announced the 24 live round competitors

The 17th Primrose International Viola Competition, presented by The Colburn School and the American Viola Society, will take place on June 17-22, 2024 at Colburn School’s Zipper Hall. Featuring the world's best and most promising young violists, all live rounds will be streamed on The Violin Channel.

The 24 live round competitors come from around the world, representing 12 countries. They are:

• Leslie Ashworth (Canada, 27, The Juilliard School)
• Keoni Bolding (United States, 26, Curtis Institute of Music)
• Hsiang-Hsin Ching (Taiwan, 23, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University)
• Toby Cook (United Kingdom, 26, Zurich University of the Arts)
• Riko Eto (Japan, 23, Tokyo University of the Art)
• Andjela Josifoski (Serbia, 17, International Menuhin Music Academy)
• Yong Ha Jung (South Korea, 24, The Juilliard School)
• Yunji Jang (South Korea, 22, Seoul National University)
• Annariina Jokela (Finland, 30, Haute Ecole de Musique)
• Mao Konishi (Japan, 28, University of the Arts Berlin)
• Katie Liu (United States, 25, Yale School of Music)
• Laura Liu (United States, 23, The Juilliard School)
• Wilhelm Magner (Canada, 24, Yale School of Music)
• David Montreuil (Canada, 28, McGill University)
• Andy Park (United States, 22, Yale University)
• Haneul Park (South Korea, 23, Curtis Institute of Music)
• Karolina Errera Pavon (Russia, 30, Kronberg Academy)
• JungAhn Shin (South Korea, 24, Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin)
• Otoha Tabata (Japan, 24, The Royal College of Music)
• Guohan Tang (China, 23, Universität der Künste Berlin)
• Duleen Van Gunsteren (Netherlands, 28, Conservatory of Amsterdam)
• Kinga Wojdalska (Poland, 25, Zurcher Hochschule der Kunste)
• Xunyu Zhou (China, 16, Shanghai Conservatory of Music Affiliated Middle School)
• Emad Zolfaghari (Canada, 19, Curtis Institute of Music)

These young violists will compete in the Quarter-Final Round on June 17 & 18, 2024, and eight competitors will advance to the Semi-Final Round on June 19, 2024.

During the Quarter-Final Round, competitors will perform works which demonstrate the musical and virtuosic strengths of the competitor, including the performance of one piece for solo viola or for viola and piano by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) composer. During the Semi-Final Round, competitors will perform any two contrasting movements of a solo work by Johann Sebastian Bach, a complete major work for viola and piano, and a commissioned work for viola and piano. Nokuthula Ngwenyama— viola soloist, composer, and 1993 Primrose Competition Winner — will serve as the inaugural Honorary Competition Chair and will write a commissioned work to be performed at the semi-final round.

The live round competition jury includes Tim Frederiksen (Jury Chairman, Denmark), Atar Arad, Cathy Basrak, Ensik Choi, Steven Dann, Ayane Kozasa, and Geraldine Walther.

The first prize winner will receive $15,000; the second prize winner will receive $10,000; the third prize winner will receive $5,000; the Transcriptions Prize winner will receive $1,000; and the Illumination Prize winner, for best performance of a work by an underrepresented composer demographic, will receive $1,000. The first prize winner will perform at the 2026 American Viola Society Festival and receive an invitation to the semi-finals of the Concert Artists Guild Competition.

The 2024 competition is dedicated to the memory of Dr. David Dalton, who was one of the world’s greatest champions of the viola, and a former student and friend of William Primrose.

"The Primrose Competition is not just a showcase of exceptional talent, but a celebration of the viola's unique voice, highlighting its depth, richness, and versatility in the world of classical music,” said Colburn School President and CEO Sel Kardan. “We are excited to host the live round competitors at Colburn in collaboration with the American Viola Society, along with hundreds of violists from around the world attending the 2024 American Viola Society Festival. This will be a week filled with inspiring music and celebrations that recognize the next generation of rising stars in classical music.”

In conjunction with the Primrose International Viola Competition, the American Viola Society will host its 2024 Festival taking place at the Colburn School on June 19-22, 2024.