24 Violists Selected to Compete in 2018 Primrose International Viola Competition in Los Angeles

March 1, 2018, 12:42 PM · Congratulations to the 24 violists selected to compete June 10–16 in the 2018 Primrose International Viola Competition at The Colburn School in Los Angeles!

The competitors range in age from 18 to 28 and represent 12 countries. They were chosen from 157 applicants, a record number for the competition, which is presented by The Colburn School and the American Viola Society in conjunction with the American Viola Society Festival, which takes place June 13–16.

The Primrose competition jury will include Chairman Lynn Harrell, David Dalton, Roland Glassl, Kazuhide Isomura, Jon Nakamatsu, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, Xidi Shen and Lars Anders Tomter.

Past winners include newly appointed Los Angeles Philharmonic principal violist Teng Li, as well as Ayane Kozasa, Antoine Tamestit, David Aaron Carpenter and Lawrence Power. The competition was last held at The Colburn School in 2014, and that year's winner, Zhanbo Zheng, currently studies with Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory.

Established in 1979 by David Dalton to honor the legacy of William Primrose, the Primrose Competition attracts talented young violists from across the world to compete for cash prizes and concert engagements.

Here is a list of the young violists who have been invited to compete in the 2018 Primrose International Viola Competition:

Jordan Bak (The Juilliard School, U.S., 23)
Juan Du (Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, China, 22)
Ricardo Gaspar (International Menuhin Music Academy, Portugal, 26)
Erika Gray (Curtis Institute of Music, U.S., 22)
Qian Hui Ho (Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Singapore, 21)
Marthe Grimsrud Husum (The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Norway, 26)
Aiden McKenzey Kane (Colburn Conservatory of Music, U.S., 21)
Haeji Kim (Curtis Institute of Music, U.S., 20)
Kyuri Kim (Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, South Korea, 25)
Yana Kucherova (Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Russia, 24)
Hae-Sue Lee (Curtis Institute of Music, South Korea, 18)
Wenguan Li (Mannes College of Music, China, 28)
Zoe Harumi Martin-Doike (Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music, U.S., 28)
Meguna Naka (Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, Japan, 24)
Johanna Cecilia Nowik (Colburn Conservatory of Music, U.S., 20)
Daniel Theophilus Orsen (New England Conservatory, U.S., 23)
Leonid Plashinov-Johnson (New England Conservatory, United Kingdom, 22)
Muriel Garnet Razavi (Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Hochschule für Music and Theater Leipzig, U.S., 25)
Tobias Reifland (Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, Germany, 23)
Mathis Rochat (Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Hochschule für Music and Theater Leipzig, France (secondary Switzerland), 23)
Lisa Sung (The Juilliard School, Australia, 22)
Kunbo Xu (Curtis Institute of Music, China, 23)
Sohui Yun (New England Conservatory, South Korea, 22)
Sarina Zickgraf (Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, Germany, 26)