Winners Announced at the 37th Klein International String Competition

The competition, which has been running for 37 years, is a prominent nurturing ground for young string players aged between 15 and 23. The competition offers a total of $30,000 worth of prize money, and in 2022, the players were mentored by past winner and VC Artist Tessa Lark.

First prize winner Korean cellist Gaeun Kim will receive $13,000 and performance contracts with the Peninsula and Santa Cruz Symphonies, Gualala Arts Chamber Music Series, and Music in the Vineyards. She was also awarded the Pablo Casals Prize for best performance of Bach.

A student at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Gautier Capucon, Kim’s winning program included movements from the Shostakovich Sonata in D minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 40 and Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33.

Previously, Kim has won first prize at the 2012 Antonio Janigro Competition, Liezen International Competition, and David Popper International Cello Competition. She was selected as a “Samsung Rising Star” and one of “30 rising stars in Culture & Arts Industry on Republic of Korea.” Gaeun was the youngest participant in the 2018 Isang-Yun International Competition and the 2019 XVI Tchaikovsky International Competition.

Second Prize and $6,300 went to 22-year-old violinist Jaewon Wee. The prize also includes performance contracts with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, among others. A current student of Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory, she was also awarded also won the Weiss prize for Best Performance of the Commissioned Work.

Third Prize and $2,500 was awarded to 18-year-old violinist Andromeda Kepecs. She will enter Columbia University to study with Li Lin in the Columbia-Juilliard Program.

Two Fourth Prizes of $1,500 each went to violinists Jacques Forestier and Hayoung Choi. 

As semifinalists, violist Emily Hwang and cellist Han Lee received $1,000.

In 2022, the jury was comprised of Richard Aaron, Christopher Costanza, Francesca de Pasquale, Daniel Stewart, Ian Swensen, and Barbara Day Turner. Composer Gloria Justen wrote this year's commission.

Previous winners of the Klein competition include Jennifer Koh (1993), Vadim Gluzman (1993), Alban Gerhardt (1989), Tessa Lark (2008), and Nikki Chooi (2009).

The competition's finals were streamed live here on The Violin Channel.