Hong Kong International Young Musicians Competition Names 2025 Winners

Violinist Wu Mengdie has won first place with $2,000 USD in the 18-23 age category of the competition 

Open to musicians aged 23 and under, the 5th Hong Kong International Young Musicians Competition was recently held at Tsuen Wan Town Hall, where the winners of all eight divisions were announced. 

The competition is split into six age groups for the solo category and two for the chamber music category. This year’s edition attracted over 700 exceptional candidates worldwide. 

Winners and prizes for the 2025 edition competition are:

Group A (aged 5 and under):

• 1st ($300 USD + Pirastro violin strings and rosin): Sumire Miyake 
• 2nd ($200): Alexander T. S. Lam
• 3rd ($100): Zenith Hui
• 4th-6th: Chan Kayden Chun Hei, Emmi Cheung, Audrey Elise Au, Chen Shangqiao

Group B (aged 6 to 8 and under)

• 1st ($600 + Pirastro violin strings and rosin): Lu Xiyuan, Sun Yaxin
• 2nd ($400): Cheng Xinran
• 3rd ($200): Wu Yunci
• 4th-6th: Liam Ian Gunawan, Ouyang Zhiyan, Jin Yixin

Group C (aged 9 to 11)

• 1st ($900 + Pirastro violin strings and rosin): Yurina Ohsawa
• 2nd ($500): Liu Yongxuan
• 3rd ($300): Sawa Kirigaya
• 4th-6th: Zhang Xichen, Wu Yusen, Rino Ohashi, Wong Ngai Nam Eleanor, Xu Xiaoya

Group D (aged 12 to 14)

• 1st ($1,100 + Pirastro violin strings and rosin + 1,000 points at G. Henle Verlag + Florian Leonhard Fine Violins Award — a one-year loan of a violin and a Magdalena Sapeta violin bow: Wong Ngai Wan Evangeline
• 2nd ($650 + G. Henle Verlag 1000 points): Pei Tsz Hin
• 3rd place ($400 + G. Henle Verlag 1000 points): Sophia Ann Fang
• 4th-6th: Wong Ho Hei, Huang Yushan, Angel Tao, Zhao Xiaoti

Group E (aged 15 to 17)

• 1st ($1,300 + Pirastro violin strings and rosin + G. Henle Verlag 1000 points + G. Henle Verlag Urtext Award): Ren Yide
• 2nd ($800 + G. Henle Verlag 1000 points): Zhang Jinxuan
• 3rd ($500 + G. Henle Verlag 1000 points): Lena Kranowska
• 4th-6th: Chung Nok Yiu, Lilien Chen

Group F (aged 18 to 23)

• 1st ($2,000 + Pirastro violin strings and rosin + G. Henle Verlag 1000 points + Gewa Music Award: Wu Mengdie 
• 2nd ($1500 + G. Henle Verlag 1000 points): Zhu Zun Zun
• 3rd ($500 + G. Henle Verlag 1000 points): Yu Junhao
• 4th-6th: Wong Chin Kei, Emanuel D Reinhardt, Shih Meng

Group G (aged 12 and under)

• 1st ($400 + Pirastro strings and rosin): Hong Kong Metropolitan Youth Chamber Orchestra — Junior String Quartet
• 2nd ($300): HKUGA Primary School — String Quartet
• 3rd ($200): YARN WaltZio quartet, Little Stringism! Chamber

Group H (aged 13 to 23)

• 1st ($400 + Pirastro strings and rosin): Hong Kong Metropolitan Youth Chamber Orchestra — Advanced String Quartet
• 2nd ($300): Archie Youth Orchestra
• 3rd ($200): Hong Kong Youth Ensemble
• 4th: The MPV Chamber

Chaired by the competition’s artistic director Kirill Troussov, the 2025 jury comprised Kyoko Takezawa, Florian Leonhard, Tong Weidong, Yang Xiaoyu, Xie Haoming, Savva Fatkulin, Ho-Young Pi, Liang Jianfeng, Zhang Zidi, Feng Jia, and Li Yuhe. 

“We want to give young musicians the opportunity to perform on stage and to meet great international musicians and professors of the jury,” Troussov told us in an interview. “The musical and technical development of musicians progresses rapidly at an early age. Thus we have created six age groups for our young talents, ranging from 1 to 23. This segmentation allows a fair comparison and clear judgments, which is very important for the final award results.”