BREAKING | Prizes Awarded at Brussel’s Grumiaux International Violin Competition

21-year-old Ayaka Uchio from Japan has been awarded 1st prize at the 2019 Grumiaux International Competition for Young Violinists

21-year-old Ayaka Uchio from Japan has today been awarded 1st prize in the Senior Category of the 2019 Grumiaux International Competition for Young Violinists – in Brussels, Belgium.

2nd prize was awarded to 18-year-old Rika Tanimoto from Japan - and 3rd prize to 19-year-old Taishin Yamamoto from Japan.

A student of Asako Urushihara at the Tokyo University of the Arts and private student of Reiko Otani, Machie Oguri, Tsugio Tokunaga and Kirill Troussov, Ayaka is a former major prize winner at the Oistrakh International Violin Competition.

15-year-old Kyota Kakiuchi from Japan was awarded 1st prize in the 14 to 17 year old age category.

Joint-3rd prize was awarded to 17-year-old Leonid Anikin from Russia, 16-year-old Juseon Kim from South Korea and 17-year-old Miquel Muñiz-Galdon, from Spain.

No 2nd prize was awarded in this year's 14 to 17 year old age category.

13-year-old Bianca Ciubancan from United States/Romania and 12-year-old Naz Irem Turkmen from Turkey were awarded 1st prize in the 11 to 13 year old age category.

Joint-2nd prize was awarded to 12-year-old Hyunjung Cha from South Korea, 11-year-old Tao-Yuan Hsiao from Taiwan and 12-year-old Emiri Kakiuchi from Japan.

Joint-3rd prize was awarded to 11-year-old Seoyul Kim, 13-year-old Zofia Olesik from Poland and 13-year-old Milena Pioruńska from Poland.

7-year-old Himari Yoshimura from Japan was awarded the Grand Prize in the 10 years and younger age category.

Joint-1st prize was awarded to 8-year-old Kai Gergov from Bulgaria/Japan and 10-year-old Nguyen Le Nguyen from Vietnam.

Joint-2nd prize was awarded to 10-year-old Anton Carus from the United States, 10-year-old SuMin Kim from South Korea and 10-year-old Riisa Nakahara from Japan.

Joint-3rd prize was awarded to 9-year-old Anisiya Artemova from Russia, 10-year-old Khanui Erdenebat from Mongolia, 9-year-old Defne Güngör from Turkey and 10-year-old Nil Ipek Sabi from Turkey.

The senior prize for the best performance of a work by a Belgian composer was awarded to 19-year-old Samuel Hirsch from Switzerland.

The 2019 jury comprised: Igor Tkatchouk (President), Dora Schwarzberg, Shirly Laub, George Tudorache, Tetiana Le Menestrel, Muhammedjan Turdiev, and Roman Fedchuk.

Previous 1st prize winners include: VC Young Artists Daniel Lozakovich and Lara Boschkor.

PHOTO CREDIT: BERNARD ROSENBERG