The participants will perform in the first round of the competition in Sion, Switzerland, on 20 August 2024, following the order draw on 19 August

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The participants of the 4th Tibor Junior International Violin Competition have been announced. The violinists are between the ages of 14 and 17. The competition’s public rounds will be held in Sion, Switzerland, from 19 to 24 August. 

The participants are: 

Emma Bischof, 17, Switzerland

Diana Chausheva, 16, Bulgaria

Corina Deng, 16, Canada

Natalia Dragan, 15, Poland

Joan Esteve Melero, 17, Spain

Elina He, 15, China

Neal Kotamarty Eisfeld, 15, United States

Norimi Lemaire, 17, France

Juan José Peña-Aguirre, 14, Colombia

Elizabeth (Poppy) Song, 14, United States

Viktor Vasilev, 17, Bulgaria

Jinan Laurentia Woo, 16, South Korea

Qingyuan Yang, 14, China/UK

Mingnan Yue, 17, China

The first and second rounds of the competition (on 20 and 22 August) will take place at Pôle Musique in Sion, while the final three finalists will perform at the city’s Théâtre de Valère, accompanied by mezzo-soprano Marie-Claude Chappuis and the South Czech Philharmonic conducted by Jan Talich.

In the upcoming first round, the participants will be required to play one of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concertos, a Paganini caprice and Arvo Pärt’s Passacaglia for two Violins. The latter will be performed with another competitor.

The first, second and third prizes are CHF5,000 (£4,400), CHF2,000 (£1,700) and CHF1,000 (£880) respectively. Other awards include a CHF500 (£440) audience prize, CHF500 ‘Over 20s’ jury prize, Sion Violon Musique Foundation Prize, a one-year loan of a c.1735 Nicolò Gagliano violin made available by Atelier Schilbach, and prize for the best interpretation of the imposed work, worth CHF500. 

The 2024 jury comprises Pavel Vernikov (president of the jury), Marie-Claude Chappuis, Mario Hossen, Alexandre Vinnitski, Eduard Wulfson and Ana Sokolović (who will join in the second round).

The competition has taken place every two years since its inception in 2018.

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