The 2026 competitors have been announced today. We offer them all our sincerest congratulations.
The 16 quarter-finalists, who will be flown to New Zealand in May, are below, along with the city they reside in or originate from.
Beatrice Colombis (Sydney/Berlin), Anais Feller (Vancouver/Washington), Emmalena Huning (Perth), Yeonoo Jeong (Seoul), Hyein Koo (Seoul), Hairui Lei (Philadelphia), Tianyou Ma (New York), Leanne McGowan (Brisbane), Jakow Pavlenko (Berlin), Alexey Stychkin (Berlin), Maxim Tzekov (Berlin), Dindin Jingyi Wang (Melbourne), Ruiyi Wang (Shanghai), Sophie Wang (Berlin), Rino Yoshimoto (Vienna) and Xunyue Zhang (Berlin).
There are also six alternates who will be invited to step in if any of the selected competitors are unable to compete. They are, in order: Julia Wang (Vienna), Yebin Yoo (Melbourne), Zixuan Shen (Beijing), Leyang Tang (Berlin), Nicholas Hammel (Austin) and Sara Schlumberger-Ruiz (Berlin).
Of the selection process and the resulting line-up of 2026 competitors, 2026 selection panelist Vesa-Matti Leppänen, also Concertmaster of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, says, “The 2026 Michael Hill International Violin Competition will be an outstanding showcase of musical talent from around the world. The overall quality of the applicants proved to be extremely high, which made the job for us in the selection panel both enjoyable and challenging.
“Having been part of the panel for more than two decades, I was especially thrilled to see the consistent technical brilliance allowing these virtuosos to fully express their emotional depth and musicality. After deliberating, we are convinced that the audiences in Queenstown, Auckland and abroad will be able to experience performances by some of the finest young violinists of their generation.”
We give special thanks to our selection panelists: Nikki Chooi (2013 winner and Concertmaster, Buffalo Philharmonic and Santa Fe Opera Orchestra), Vesa-Matti Leppänen (Concertmaster, NZSO), Andrew Beer (Concertmaster, Auckland Philharmonia), Amalia Hall (Violinist, NZTrio) and Mark Menzies (Professor of Music at University of Canterbury, New Zealand).
Tickets will be on sale in early 2026.
