Klein International String Competition announces finalists

3 finalists have been selected to participate in the finals on June 2, 2024 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Open to musicians aged 15 to 23, the Irving M. Klein International String Competition has championed the world’s best young string musicians for 39 years. Held at San Francisco Conservatory of MusicAt Sol Joseph Recital Hall in , the live finals will begin at 3:00 p.m. PT on June 2 and will be streamed. live here on The Violin Channel.

The finalists are violists Pearl of the Motteviolinist François Tsaiand cellist Amélie Zitoun.

They will each compete for the grand prize of $5,000 (funded by the MOCA Foundation), including performance contracts worth $15,000 with the Peninsula and Santa Cruz SymphoniesAnd Gualala Art Room Seriesamong others.

The second prize of $3,500 — generously supported by Ruth Short in memory of Elaine H. Klein — will also include a performance opportunity with the San José Chamber Orchestraworth $5,500.

Other prizes included a third prize of $2,500 (donated in memory of Milton Preves by Judith and David Anderson) and two fourth prizes of $1,500 each, including one presented by Maria Klein in memory of Jerry Lee Klein .

Semi-finalists who did not receive a named prize will each receive $1,000. In addition, $500 will be awarded for the best interpretation of Bach’s solo and the work commissioned by John wine glass.

Jury members will include Barbara Day Turner, Daniel Stewart, Hal Robinson, Ian Swensen, John Wineglass, Mark Kosower and Paul Yarbrough.

The third Klein Prize 2016, violinist Alina Kobialka, is one of the competition’s mentors this year and will co-host the event with Klein’s artistic director Mitchell Sardou Klein.

“The 2024 Klein Competition semi-finalists were selected from a record number of extraordinary applicants, each with a distinctive voice and remarkable musicality,” Klein said in the press release. “We are excited to introduce these future leaders of the next generation of brilliant musical artists. »

Past Klein Prize winners include Alban Gerhardt, Francesca dePasquale, Frank Huang, Jennifer Frautschi, Jennifer Koh, Vadim Gluzman, Mark Kosower and Artists VC Nikki Chooi, Tessa LarkAnd Zlatomir Fung.

Virtuoso chamber musician and cello teacher Irving M. Klein founded the California Music Center (CMC) in 1974 as a summer music institute and chamber music series for young artists. In 1986, the CMC inaugurated the Irving M. Klein International String Competition (“the Klein”), which has since developed the careers of countless musicians, who have become soloists, chamber musicians, teachers and members internationally famous. orchestras.