The Michael Hill International Violin Competition was officially opened this evening, with a warm, intimate gathering of competitors, fellows, judges, host families, sponsors and supporters.
Hosted by Sir Michael Hill and Lady Christine Hill, the international guests were formally welcomed with a Powhiri by the Arrowtown Primary School kapahaka group followed by an inspiring speech from competition founder, Sir Michael Hill.
Perhaps the most highly anticipated moment of this event is the announcement of the ‘draw’ for the performers. Executive Director Anne Rodda and Sir Michael took turns drawing names from a ‘hat’ to ultimately decide the official performance order for the 16 competitors.
2023 Michael Hill International Violin Competition – Round 1 Draw:
| Competitor 1 | Kingston Ho, 21 – USA |
| Competitor 2 | Hani Song, 25 – Switzerland/Germany |
| Competitor 3 | Yeyeong Jin, 19 – South Korea/USA |
| Competitor 4 | Gabrielle Després, 22 – Canada/USA |
| Competitor 5 | Eva Rabchevska, 26 – Ukraine/Germany |
| Competitor 6 | Jiayi Chen, 26 – China/Austria |
| Competitor 7 | Tianyu Liu, 23 – China/USA |
| Competitor 8 | Karen Su, 24 – USA/Belgium |
| Competitor 9 | Audrey Park, 20 – USA |
| Competitor 10 | Yuri Tanaka, 17 – Japan/Germany |
| Competitor 11 | Claire Wells, 21 – USA/Germany |
| Competitor 12 | Ayaka Uchio, 25 – Japan/Germany |
| Competitor 13 | Julia Mirzoev, 26 – Canada |
| Competitor 14 | Seonglan Hong, 21 – South Korea |
| Competitor 15 | Aoi Saito, 25 – Japan/Germany |
| Competitor 16 | Lorenz Karls, 21 – Sweden/Austria |
The first eight performers will take to the stage on Friday 2 June, with the remaining 8 performing across Saturday’s sessions.
For those who are unable to attend, each session will be live-streamed on our website (see above) and on Facebook. Archived performances will also be made available through Facebook and Youtube.
Visit our homepage regularly to “Keep Up With The Play” via our news blog, sharing regular updates and behind-the-scenes stories over each day of the competition.
www.instagram.com/violincompetition
