The following sixteen outstanding violinists will be flown to New Zealand to compete in the live rounds of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition 2026.
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Beatrice Colombis, Sydney | Berlin
Beatrice began her studies at the age of three with renowned teacher of the Suzuki Method, Yasuki Nakamura, and continued her studies with ACO violinist Ilya Isakovich. She has been a prize winner in several Australian competitions, including the 2nd prize in the Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship (2025), 1st and audience prizes at the Kendall National Violin Competition (2023), Richard Mills first prize in the Melbourne Bach Competition (2021) and the Anne Kantor Award in the Great Romantics Competition (2024).
In 2020, Beatrice, with her brother and cousins as the Cousin Quartet, won Musica Viva’s Inaugural Strike A Chord national chamber music competition. Beatrice has performed as a soloist with Concerto Arcana, Caesura Ensemble, and the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra.
In 2024 she completed her Bachelor Degree of Music Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying with Professor Goetz Richter. In the same year, she was a semi-finalist in the Max Rostal International Violin Competition in Germany and a finalist in the Tokyo Classic Violin Competition in Japan.
Beatrice was selected as an Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2023 and 2024. She has played as a casual with the ACO and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. She was selected for the Gustav Mahler Academy in Bolzano in 2025/26.
Beatrice has travelled and performed with various string quartets, including touring NSW and taking part in masterclasses and festivals in Finland, Austria and Germany. In 2024 her quartet Elvina gave their debut recital in Melbourne after returning from a residency in Munich with the Schumann Quartet. Other chamber music collaborators include Anthony Marwood, Julian Smiles, Roger Benedict, Kristian Winther and the Brodsky Quartet.
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Anais Feller, Vancouver | Washington
As a soloist, she has earned top prizes at the Tibor Junior International Violin Competition (Switzerland), Verão Clássico Festival (Portugal), Burgos International Music Festival (Spain), and the HKGNA International Music Competition (International Young Artist), as well as multiple U.S. competitions.
An avid chamber musician, Anaïs is the violinist of the award-winning Olive Trio, gold medalists at both the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (Junior Division) and the Chicago International Music Competition. She has performed annually at the Edinburgh International Festival (2023–2025) alongside Stefan Jackiw and Nicola Benedetti, and has appeared at renowned festivals including the Fontainebleau School of Music (France), Yellow Barn (Vermont), Morningside Music Bridge (Boston), Academia Verão Clássico (Portugal), the International Menuhin Music Academy (Gstaad), and La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest (California).
At sixteen, Anaïs was among the youngest artists named a Performance Today Young Artist in Residence, a prestigious national honor recognizing exceptional emerging musicians featured on YourClassical.
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Emmalena Huning, Perth
She is currently studying at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Benjamin Beilman and Erin Keefe, and is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music (London) where she studied with Gyorgy Pauk and Jack Liebeck.
Emmalena is a prize winner at the National Youth Concerto Competition, Kendall National Violin Competition and Osaka International Music Competition, and was awarded the Australian Musician of Promise prize at the Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition in 2022.
Notable performances as a soloist include Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Korngold, Bruch and Mozart No. 5 violin concertos with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and other orchestras around Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Emmalena has work with artists such as Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich and Nathan Cole, in masterclasses as well as privately, and in 2023 was broadcasted live on BBC Radio 3 together with James Ehnes, playing a selection of Bartok Duos. In 2025, she went on a US tour with Grammy award winning guitarist, Jason Vieaux, and president of the Curtis Institute, Roberto Diaz. Emmalena has also been recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London on multiple occasions.
As an orchestral player, Emmalena is currently Concertmaster of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, working regularly and closely with Osmo Vanska and Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and is also the Associate Concertmaster of Symphony in C (New Jersey). In 2024, she was the concertmaster of the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra for their performance of Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra under Andris Nelsons. Bachtrack reported that her solo lines throughout were “handled with a rarefied Viennese Air”. In 2025, she was concertmaster at the Shostakovich Festival in Leipzig for their performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 and No. 12, also under Andris Nelsons.
Emmalena has been supported by the Australian Music Foundation since 2022.
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Yeonoo Jeong, Seoul
Yeonoo has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras including the Seocho Philharmonic Orchestra in its New Year’s Concert and the Seoul National University College of Music Orchestra for its annual Concerto Night.
Throughout her musical training, Yeonoo has participated in a wide range of competitions. She received the 16th Shinhan Music Award and earned first prize at the Rising Stars Grand Prix International Music Competition in Berlin. She was recognized with top prizes in many national competitions, including the KCO Competition, Eumyeon Competition, Seoul Arts High School Concerto and Chamber Competitions, Gwangju Youth Competition, Ewha & Kyunghyang Competition, and various competitions presented by the Korea Performing Artists Association and the World Journal.
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Hyein Koo, Seoul
As a soloist, Koo has performed with orchestras such as the New World Philharmonic Orchestra, Gyeongsangbuk-do Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul National University String Ensemble, and Spera Soloists. She has appeared on prestigious stages including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Seoul Arts Center, Lotte Concert Hall, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts recipient and as a full scholarship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival.
Equally passionate about chamber music, Koo has performed in the GMC Summer Music Festival, the Juilliard Chamber Concert Series, and Seoul National University’s Spirit of SNU Strings. She has also collaborated internationally, appearing in the Colburn School & Seoul Arts High School Joint Concert in Los Angeles.
Her orchestral experience includes serving as principal second violin of the Juilliard Orchestra and as concertmaster and principal violin at Seoul National University.
Koo is currently pursuing a Master of Musical Arts degree at the Yale School of Music under Soovin Kim. She previously earned her Master of Music at The Juilliard School under Ronald Copes and her Bachelor of Music at Seoul National University, where she studied with Ju-young Baek and Ji-won Moon.
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Hairui Lei, Philadelphia
He has performed at various venues, including the Shanghai Concert Hall, Shanghai Conservatory of Music He Luting Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Mozart Music Hall, and the Philadelpia Kimmel Center in Zhuhai.
In 2016, he won first place in the Children’s Group of the “National Youth Music Competition – Hummingbird Music Award” Shanghai regional competition. In 2017, he achieved first place in the Professional Elementary School Group at the Vienna International String Competition Shanghai regional competition and third place in the Children’s Professional Group at the “Hong Kong International Violin Competition.
In 2021, he won the second prize of EuroAsia International Violin Competition. In 2022 he was accepted by the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with Pamela Frank and Shmuel Ashkenasi. In addition to the violin, he also studies piano, harmony, and composition.
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Tianyou Ma, New York
Praised for his exquisite sound and expressive artistry, violinist Tianyou Ma has established himself as one of the outstanding musicians of his generation. He is a top prize winner at the Sendai International Music Competition, Singapore International Violin Competition (also recipient of the Bach Prize), Menuhin International Violin Competition (also recipient of the Bach Prize), Barbash Bach Competition, and Postacchini Competition.
As a soloist, Tianyou has appeared with major orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, Webern Kammerphilharmonie, and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with leading chamber ensembles such as the Dover Quartet, Rosamunde Quartet, and Ysaÿe String Quartet, and has been featured at festivals including the Verbier Festival Academy (as both soloist and chamber musician), Gstaad Strings Academy, Music@Menlo International Program, and the Internationale Sommerakademie der mdw.
This spring, Tianyou will continue pursuing the prestigious Artistic Diploma program at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Catherine Cho, with whom he also serves as Teaching Assistant. He recently completed his Master of Music at Juilliard as a Kovner Fellowship recipient, where the school awarded him the William Schuman Prize for outstanding achievement and leadership.
Tianyou’s musical path has been shaped by the support of many scholarships and fellowships. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music on full scholarship with Pamela Frank and Shmuel Ashkenasi, where he was awarded the 2023 Milka Violin Artist Prize and spoke as a commencement speaker. His early training began at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide, Australia, under Keith Crellin, before continuing at The Yehudi Menuhin School in the U.K. with Diana Galvydyte, where he was also supported by the UK’s Music and Dance Scheme.
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Leanne McGowan, Brisbane | Berlin
She is the winner of the Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship for Violinists, Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s Young Instrumentalists Prize and was awarded “Most Promising Player” at the Gisborne International Violin Competition, among many other prizes.
Leanne has performed as a soloist with the Sendai Philharmonic Queensland, Northern Rivers, Preston and South Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, Queensland Youth Symphony and Melbourne Conservatorium’s Camerata Orchestra.
She has performed all throughout Australia, Europe and the United States, at festivals such as the Kronberg Academy “Chamber Music Connects the World”, Gstaad Academy Festival, Marvão Academy, Kronberg Violin & Viola Masterclasses, Festival Academy Budapest, Keshet Eilon Mastercourse, Villars Music Academy, New York String Orchestra Seminar and Aspen Music Festival. Leanne has toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and substitutes regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic. She is currently on trial with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Stegreif Orchester.
An avid chamber musician, Leanne has performed alongside musicians such as Antje Weithaas, Gidon Kremer, Miklos Perenyi, Henning Kraggerud, Tatjana Masurenko, Arnaud Sussman and Tessa Lark.
She previously studied at the Colburn Conservatory of Music with Robert Lipsett and the Australian National Academy of Music with Dr Robin Wilson. She has received additional mentoring from Ana Chumanchenco, Christoph Poppen, Mihaela Martin, Kolja Blacher, Kristof Barati and Vadim Gluzman.
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Jakow Pavlenko, Berlin
In February 2017, the German Music Foundation honoured him as the youngest prize winner of the 25th competition of the German Musical Instruments Fund and also provided him with an instrument, currently a violin by Giuseppe Ornati, Milan 1924, from the collection of the Federal Republic of Germany.
In May 2021, he was the youngest participant to win second prize and several special prizes at the Odessa International Violin Competition and the international Viktor Tretjakov Violin Competition in Krasnoyarsk. In 2024, he won the prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned piece at the Stuttgart International Violin Competition.
Pavlenko has performed with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, the Baden-Baden Philharmonic and the Odessa Symphony Orchestra. He has been a guest at the Beethovenfest in Bonn, the Ludwigsburg Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Ludwigsburg Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Hitzacker Music Week and the Rheingau Music Festival, and he has performed in concert halls such as the Great Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Great Hall of the Elbphilharmonie and the Pierre Boulez Hall.
In 2024 Jakow played his first solo tour in Japan. Since 2024, he has been a scholarship holder of the Cusanuswerk, and since 2025 he has been a scholarship holder in the concert promotion programme of the German Music Council.
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Alexey Stychkin, Berlin
Born in Moscow, Alexey began his violin studies at the Central Music School for Gifted Children with Galina Tourchaninova and later Eduard Grach. He moved to Belgium to study with Marc Bouchkov at the Liège Royal Conservatory and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at the Barenboim-Said Academy under Professor Mihaela Martin.
In the 2022–23 season, Alexey was selected as an academy artist in the first violin section of the Staatskapelle Berlin, performing under conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Antonello Manacorda, and Lorenzo Viotti. He led the orchestra alongside Daniel Barenboim for the Academy’s 25th Anniversary. He also became the first musician ever chosen through the open application process for the Classeek Ambassador Programme.
Alexey’s solo debut was at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow State Orchestra. He has since appeared as soloist with the GUSO Orchestra (Ghent), the Russian Philharmonic and musicians of Villa Musica. As concertmaster, he has toured with the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, led the Hamburg Camerata and Aalborg Symphony Orchestra.
A committed chamber musician, Alexey has collaborated with Kirill Gerstein, Marc Bouchkov, Kian Soltani, Kristof Barati, Stephan Dohr, and others, performing at festivals such as Aix-en-Provence, Vebier, Erfurt Music Festival, and the Leopold Auer Festival.
A prize winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians and the Henry Vieuxtemps Competition. Alexey also composes across genres from electronic to orchestral music.
He plays a 1740 Carlo Antonio Testore violin generously loaned by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
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Maxim Tzekov, Berlin
As a soloist and chamber musician, Maxim Tzekov has been a guest at international concert halls and festivals such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Victoria Hall Geneva, the Bregenz Festival, the Sofia Music Weeks, the Carinthian Summer Music Festival and the Cello Biennale Amsterdam. He has performed with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, the Concertino Ensemble Augsburg, the Symphony Orchestra of the HfMT Hamburg, the Camerata UNAB in Chile, and the Classic FM Radio Orchestra Sofia. His chamber music partners in recent years include Lukas Sternath, Maximilian Kromer, Jaemin Han, Julian Trevelyan & Julia Hagen.
Maxim Tzekov is the winner of the International Violin Competition ‘Kloster Schöntal’ 2019, where he also received the Bach Special Prize, as well as the Alberto Lysy Competition 2020 in Gstaad and the Stephanie Hohl Competition 2021 in Vienna. As prizewinner of the competition of the German Musical Instrument Fund 2025 and scholarship holder of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, he plays the violin ‘ex-Kingman’, made by G. B. Guadagnini in Parma in 1769.
Since 2023 he has been part of Ulf Wallin’s violin class at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin. Previously, he studied with Lieke te Winkel in Vienna (mdw) since 2015.
Further studies led him to Gerhard Schulz, Annette Bik, Sebastian Gürtler and Tanja Becker-Bender. He attended master classes at the Kronberg Academy and the Keshet Eilon String Mastercourse with Vadim Gluzman, Chaim Taub, Benjamin Schmid, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Stephan Picard, Ingolf Turban, and Mihaela Martin, among others. In July 2023, 24 & 25 he was an Academist of the Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland.
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Dindin Jingyi Wang, Melbourne
Dindin was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia at age 15, where she currently studies with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Pamela Frank.
Previously, she held the Kohl Scholarship at the Colburn Music Academy in Los Angeles and also studied in Melbourne, Australia. Her previous teachers include Margaret Batjer, Ida Kavafian, Fintan Murphy, and Xiaofang Shen.
Dindin was awarded Second Prize at the 2022 Chicago International Violin Competition, and Third Prize at the 2024 New York Classic Violin Competition. In 2025, she was the First Prize winner of the Australian Dorcas McClean Traveling Scholarship, the Australian Youth Classical Music Competition, and the Zhuhai Hengqin Mozart International Violin Competition.
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Ruiyi Wang, Shanghai
He has given solo concerts at Shenzhen Concert Hall, Zhuhai Grand Theatre, Menuhin Concert Hall, He Luting Concert Hall, Qingdao Concert Hall, Poly Grand Theatre and other places.
Ruiyi achieved first place in the China Division of the 2023 Hachaturian International Violin Competition, First Prize of Qingdao National Violin Competition, and First Prize in the Professional Youth Group of the 14th Hong Kong International Violin Competition 2024.
In 2024, he won the second prize in the Russian “Yamal Symphony” International Competition for Young Musicians, and Third Prize in the 31st Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition, Category D.
Ruiyi was invited to participate in the opening concert of the 39th and 40th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival, and performed with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra as a soloist.
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Sophie Wang, Berlin
She gained international attention since she won the First Prize at International Louis Spohr Violin Competition in Weimar (2013). She has also been awarded First Prize at International Violin Competition Andrea Postacchini (2014), First Prize at International Paul Hindemith Violin Competition in Berlin (2011) and First Prize at International Wolfgang Marschner Competition in Freiburg (2010). Furthermore, she is winner of CHIMEI Museum & Culture Foundation Arts Award 2016 und 2017 and the Carl Flesch-Prize of the Carl Flesch Academy Baden-Baden (2011).
Since making her debut in Festspielhaus Baden-Baden at the age of ten, she has appeared in various concert halls such as Konzerthaus Berlin, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Festspielhaus Bregenz, Tonhalle Zurich, Shenzhen Concert Hall and National Concert Hall Taipei. As a soloist, she has performed with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Staatskapelle Weimar, Duisburger Philharmoniker, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Philharmonie Jena, Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt, Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan (NSO), Südwestdeutsche Kammerphilharmonie Pforzheim, Zürcher Kammerorchester Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen, Mitteldeutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Salzburg Chamber Soloists and Chaarts Chamber Artists. Her recent solo engagements include the Duisburger Philharmoniker, Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen, the Evergreen Symphony and Chaarts Chamber Artists.
Sophie has attended Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Kronberg Academy Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Krzyzowa Music.
In 2016, she made her debut at Spannungen Heimbach Chamber Music Festival. Her chamber music partners have included Jana Bouskova, Gustav Rivinius, Alexander Rudin and Antje Weithaas.
Since 2018, she has been supported by Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund, associated with the Prize of Artur und Lieselotte Dumcke Stiftung. Futhermore, she is supported by CHIMEI Museum & Culture Foundation.
Sophie performs on a Camillo Camilli violin 1745 on a generous loan from CHIMEI Foundation.
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Rino Yoshimoto, Vienna
Rino has performed concerto and recital tours across Europe and was invited on tour to Spain as soloist with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. She has also appeared in solo recitals and numerous orchestral and chamber music projects in Japan, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Italy, Russia, and the United States.
She is a prizewinner at several major international competitions, most recently receiving the Second Prize at the 58th Premio Paganini International Violin Competition (2025). She was awarded the Second Prize at the 10th Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition (2022) and is a prizewinner of the 2020 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition as well as the 16th Padova International Music Competition “Premio Città di Padova.
Rino is currently a chamber music student at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where she studies under Miguel da Silva, Corina Belcea, and Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden. Her past teachers include Masako Kida, Gérard Poulet, Mauro Iurato, Yoshio Unno, and Michael Frischenschlager.
She currently performs on the Stradivarius “Muntz” (1736), generously loaned to her by the Nippon Music Foundation.
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Xunyue Zhang, Berlin
As a soloist, Xunyue has performed in Germany, Italy, and China with orchestras such as the Hofer Symphoniker, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Potsdam Chamber Academy, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, and the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. She has also given recitals in Berlin, Shanghai, and other cities.
She was selected to participate in masterclasses at the Kronberg Festival, at the Villecroze Music Academy, and at the Ettal International Summer Academy. She has worked Mihaela Martin, Ana Chumachenco, Kolja Blacher, Boris Kuschnir, and Oleh Krysa.
After her studies at the Affiliated Middle School of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Xunyue has continued her education at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin studying with Stephan Picard.
She performs on a violin by Andrea Guarneri, Cremona 1663, generously on loan from Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
Alternates
Julia Wang, Vienna
Yebin Yoo, Melbourne
Zixuan Shen, Beijing
Leyang Tang, Berlin
Nicholas Hammel, Austin
Sara Schlumberger-Ruiz, Berlin
