Twelve violinists have been selected to advance to the semi-finals of the 2026 Singapore International Violin Competition.
It follows the first round, which was held in two sessions from January 25-27 and 28-30. The 29 contestants performed solo recitals of Bach and Ysaye, recitals of sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Kreisler, and one piece of the nominee’s choice.
The semi-finalists are:
Yesung Sophie Lee
Choi Sung Ha
Emmanuel Coppy
elephant men
Georgy Moros
haram kim
michael germer
Ding Ding Jingyi Wang
Karisa Chiu
Hailui Ray
Wen Qingzu
Jiang Jingyi
The semi-finals will be held on February 1st and 2nd, during which contestants will perform a 60-minute recital consisting of works by selected sonatalists and works commissioned by the competition. monologueby David Rourke.
Six finalists will then be selected to perform chamber music with the Shanghai Quartet, followed by three grand finalists who will perform a concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Joshua Tan.
The total prize pool is over USD 110,000, with a maximum prize of USD 50,000. The top six winners will also receive a three-year fine violin loan from the Lynn Collection in addition to a concert contract.
The jury for this year’s competition is headed by artistic director Qian Zhou and includes Shmuel Ashkenashi, Augustin Dumay, Koichiro Harada, Aida Kavafian, Barnabas Kelemen, Itzhak Rashkovsky, Paul Rochek, Pavel Vernikov, and Lina Yu.