Candidates Announced at Finland's International Paulo Cello Competition

26 cellists have been chosen from 108 applications, and will compete for the €20,000 First Prize

The International Paulo Cello Competition takes place approximately every five years in Finland. The 2023 edition is currently being held until October 12.

The competition caters to players aged between 16 and 30, and in 2023, 108 cellists from 23 different countries applied to take part.

The selected cellists are as follows:

• Seungyeon Baik
• A-Hyeon Choi
• Luka Coetzee
• Peter Eom
• João Pedro Gonçalves
• Amy Goto
• Johannes Gray
• Annabel Hauk
• Timothy Hopkins
• Woochan Jeong
• Liav Kerbel
• Gaeun Kim
• Jisoo Kim
• Tae-Yeon Kim
• Samuel Niederhauser
• Ye Un Park
• Petar Pejčić
• Florian Pons
• Grace Sohn
• Michael Song
• Simon Tetzlaff
• Bruno Tobon
• Benett Tsai
• Juliet Wolff
• Shun-Ming Yang

First Prize is worth €20,000 and a bow made by Risto Vainio Ltd, while Second Prize is worth €15,000 and Third Prize €12,000. The other three finalists will each receive €3,000.

In 2023, the jury will comprise Arto Noras, Richard Aaron, Frans Helmerson, Hyoung Won Chang, Maria Kliegel, Ivan Monighetti, Philippe Muller, Martti Rousi, and Tsuyoshi Tsustumi.

The previous winners of the International Paulo Cello Competition are Xavier Phillips (1991), Hai-Ye Ni (1996), Enrico Bronzi (2002), Andreas Brantelid (2007), Kian Soltani (2013), and Brandon Cho (2018). The Artistic Director of the Competition is Professor Arto Noras.

"We extend a hearty welcome to come along and support the competitors, and to spend a few early October days listening to cellists and their music," Noras said.