Prizewinners Announced at the Violin Society of America's 2024 Competition

For the second time, the Canadian luthier Fabienne Gauchet received a double gold medal for quartet instruments

 

Founded in 1973, the Violin Society of America (VSA) is a non-profit organization that promotes the art and science of making, repairing, and preserving stringed musical instruments and their bows.

In 2024, the VSA hosted its 50th instrument and bow-making convention, as well as its 25th international competition, in Indianapolis from November 17 to 24. The contestants entered 518 instruments and 82 bows for scrutiny by the judges.

The winners in each category are as follows:

INSTRUMENTS

Quartets:

Double Gold Medal for Tone and Artisanship

• Fabienne Gauchet

Gold Medal

• Stefano Gibertoni & Valerio Nalin

Silver Medal for Artisanship

• Noémie Viaud

Silver Medal for Tone

• Artur Friedhoff
• Elià Fabré & Aogu Shimasaki
• Zhiling Liang

Certificate of Merit for Artisanship

• Benjamin Molinaro
• Jinlong Yang
• Viateur Roy

Certificate of Merit for Tone

• Jin Wook Hong
• Jun Hong Wang
• Theodore Skreko
• Yi Huan Wang
• Yufan Chen & Huo Rong Jiang

Violin:

Silver Medal for Artisanship

• Akop Azoyan
• Paul Belin

Silver Medal for Tone

• Fabienne Gauchet
• Maximilian Franke & Elisabeth Franke
• Peter Bingen
• Philip Ihle & Mathieu Fourrier

Bronze Medal

• Milos Seyda

Certificate of Merit for Artisanship

• Piotr Pielaszek
• Viateur Roy

Certificate of Merit for Tone

• Andrew Ryan
• Artur Friedhoff
• Elià Fabré & Aogu Shimasaki
• Gabor Draskoczy
• John Wright
• Jordan Ripstein
• Ryan McLaughlin
• Vejcheslav Popovski
• Xue Wang
• Zhongbo Wang
• Zhuolin Li

Viola:

Gold Medal

• Elià Fabré & Aogu Shimasaki

Silver Medal for Artisanship

• Jinlong Yang
• Lucas Castera
• Silver Medal for Tone
• Benjamin Molinaro

Certificate of Merit for Artisanship

• Bin Li
• Boris Haug
• Elià Fabré & Aogu Shimasaki
• Fabienne Gauchet
• Haitao Liu
• Paweł Kubacka
• Stefano Gibertoni & Valerio Nalin
• Xiaoyang Yan

Certificate of Merit for Tone

• Eduard Miller
• Yan Wang & Xiaolin Xu
• Zhiling Liang
• Marcin Krupa
• Theodore Skreko
• Tamás Orsós

Cello:

Silver Medal for Artisanship

• Benjamin Molinaro
• Noémie Viaud
• Viateur Roy

Silver Medal for Tone

• Michael Doran

Certificate of Merit for Artisanship

• Krzysztof Krupa
• Marcin Krupa
• Stefano Gibertoni & Valerio Nalin

Certificate of Merit for Tone

• Artur Friedhoff
• Christian Pedersen & Paul Hart
• Elià Fabré & Aogu Shimasaki
• Jeffrey Muller
• John Dailey
• John Wright
• Jun Hong Wang
• Yi Huan Wang

Double bass:

Bronze Medal

• Christian Pedersen & Paul Hart
• Christopher Savino
• Trevor Davis

Certificate of Merit for Artisanship

• Colin Shipman
• Evan Davenport
• Helen McIntosh
• Mason Weedman
• Oskar Krawiecki

 

BOWS

Violin bow:

Gold Medal

• Emmanuel Carlier
• Victor Bernard

Certificate of Merit

• Niall Flemming
• Yongmin Na

Viola bow:

Gold Medal

• Emmanuel Carlier
• Victor Bernard

Certificate of Merit

• Lucie Martinie
• Niall Flemming
• Yongmin Na

Cello bow:

Gold Medal

• Emmanuel Carlier
• Victor Bernard

Certificate of Merit

• Éric Gagné
• Joséphine Thomachot
• Lucie Martinie
• Yongmin Na

Bass bow:

Gold Medal

• Victor Bernard

Certificate of Merit

• Michael Gaisbacher

 

In 2024, the artisanship jury comprised Guy Harrison, Ulrich Hinsberger, and Melina Polizzi (violin); Kelvin Scott, Jason Viseltear, and Wendy Moes (viola); Frank Ravatin, Mira Gruszow, and Julie Reed-Yeboah (cello); Mario Lamarre, Bill Lakeberg, and David Wiebe (double bass); and Morgan Andersen, Yannick Le Canu, and Emmanuel Begin (bows).

The tone jury comprised Cristian Fatu, Richard Lin, and Sandy Yamamoto (violin); Jordan Bak, Yu Jin, and Zhanbo Vheng (viola); Austin Huntington, Mihail Jojatu, and Anna Clift (cello); Rachel Calin, Sharif Ibrahim, and David Murray (bass); and Sirnin Ganatra, Austin Hartman, Mark Holloway, and Brandon Vamos (Pacifica Quartet). The listening judge was cellist Emilio Colón.