Applications Open for 2026 Elmar Oliveira Violin Competition

The fourth triennial edition will be held at Florida’s Lynn University in Boca Raton from January 4 – 18, 2026

Open to violinists of all nationalities aged between 18 and 30, the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (EOIVC) will be held from January 4 – 18, 2026. 

First prize is awarded with $30,000 USD, plus career benefits including artist management and public relations support, concert and community engagements, and a new violin and bow. 

Second place is endowed with $15,000 and a new violin bow, and third prize is valued at $10,000. The winner of the Honorable Mention award will receive $5,000. 

To apply, click here. The deadline for applications is September 12, 2025.

Round I will be via online submissions only. The in-person rounds will start with the preliminary stage, which will receive up to 20 candidates. The semi-final round will select 12 violinists. 

Finally, up to four candidates will be in the last round at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center, performing with the Lynn Philharmonia and conductor Gerald Karni. 

Chaired by Andrés Cárdenes, the 2026 jury will comprise Ilya Kaler, Ida Kavafian, Irina Muresanu, Philip Setzer, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, and Kyoko Takezawa. Scott Flavin will serve as an alternate jurist. 

Additionally, the EOIVC Qualifying Selection Committee will include Jennifer Frautschi, Lucia Lin, and Arnaud Sussmann. 

“I truly believe in giving back,” Mr. Oliveira told The Violin Channel in 2016. “I have had a wonderful career, helped by many people in the industry. Now, it is my time to do the same. I have created this competition in an effort to secure a future for a young violinist.”

The 2023 EOIVC was won by VC Artist Hina Khuong-Huu, who has since made her Kennedy Center debut and performed solo with the Symphony of the Americas, Savannah Philharmonic, Greensboro Symphony, and Brevard Symphony Orchestra.

Hina performs on the c.1722 “Lord Wandsworth” Stradivarius violin — generously on loan from the Ryuji Ueno Foundation and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative.