By Stephanie Powell
The Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition has named its first-place winner: 22-year-old Sirena Huang. The multi-faceted prize includes $30,000; a violin built by luthiers Feng Jiang, Jeffrey Phillips, Andrew Ryan, and John Young; a silver-mounted bow from Eric Lane; a Musafia violin case donated by Reuning and Son Violins, Inc.; public relations– and artist management–support, and scheduled performances with orchestras and festivals throughout the US.
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A second-place prize of $15,000 went to Alina Ming Kobialka, and a third-place prize of $10,000 went to Hannah Tarley. Quanshuai Li received an Honorable Mention–prize worth $1,000. The final round had the four finalists performing either the Tchaikovsky or Sibelius violin concertos with the Lynn Philharmonia under the direction of Guillermo Figueroa. Huang was the only finalist to select the Tchaikovsky.
The inaugural competition took place at Lynn Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida, on February 5, and was judged by Andrés Cárdenes, Charles Castleman, Alexander Gilman, Gudny Gudmundsdottir, Daniel Heifetz (chairman of the jury), Ilya Kaler and Vera Tsu Wei-ling.