Inaugural Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition names 20 shortlisted candidates

The inaugural Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (EOIVC) - taking place from 22 January to 5 February 2017 at the Lynn Conservatory of Music in Florida - has named the 20 candidates selected to take part in its live rounds.  Whittled down from 80 applicants from 16 countries, the violin semi-finalists will compete in three rounds for a grand prize of $30,000, performance opportunities, and management and public relations support.

Aged between 19 and 30, the 20 candidates hail from eight countries—Norway, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, United States, Kazakhstan, Taiwan and Japan - and include a number of names familiar to the competitive circuit:

Christopher Tun Andersen (24, Norway)

Wonhee Bae (29, South Korea)

Aaron Chan (20, Hong Kong)

Brian Kwan Yeung Choi (22, China)

Sirena Huang (22, United States)

Ho-Hsuan Feng (21, Taiwan)

Luke Hsu (26, United States)

Ari Isaacman-Beck (31, United States)

Alina Ming Kobialka (19, United States)

Erzhan Kulibaev (30, Kazakhstan)

Li Lao (29, China)

Jiyoon Lee (24, South Korea)

Quanshuai Li (25, China)

Christine Seohyun Lim (22, United States/South Korea)

Max Yiming Mao (22, China)

Dongfang Ouyang (26, China)

Ji Won Song (23, South Korea) pictured

Elly Suh (27, United States/South Korea)

Chiharu Taki (29, Japan)

Hannah Tarley (25, United States)

The EOIVC has been established by 1978 Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medal-winning violinist Elmar Oliveira, in collaboration with the Lynn Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida. Open to violinists aged 16-32, the contest is to be held every three years with the aim of providing 'long-term career development tools' designed to 'cultivate and nurture developing musicians'.

The 2017 judges are Andrés Cárdenes, Charles Castleman, Alexander Gilman, Gudny Gudmundsdottir, Daniel Heifetz (Chairman of the Jury), Ilya Kaler and Vera Tsu Wei-ling.