BREAKING | Hao Zhou Awarded 1st Prize at 2019 Concours Musical International de Montréal

22-year-old Hao Zhou has been awarded 1st prize at the 2019 Concours Musical International de Montréal

22-year-old Hao Zhou from the United States has just minutes ago been awarded 1st prize at the 2019 Concours Musical International de Montréal - Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

A graduate of the Colburn School, where he studied with Martin Beaver, Hao is the former 1st prize winner at the American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition - and former major prize winner, as a member of the Viano String Quartet, at the 2018 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.

2nd and 3rd prizes were awarded to 29-year-old Johanna Pichlmair from Austria - and 25-year-old Fumika Mohri from Japan/Germany.

HAO ZHOU | SHOSTAKOVICH VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 IN A MINOR  | ALEXANDER SHELLEY & ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE MONTRÉAL | 2019 CONCOURS MUSICAL INTERNATIONAL DE MONTRÉAL | 1ST PRIZE

JOHANNA PICHLMAIR | BRAHMS VIOLIN CONCERTO | ALEXANDER SHELLEY & ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE MONTRÉAL | 2019 CONCOURS MUSICAL INTERNATIONAL DE MONTRÉAL | 2ND PRIZE

FUMIKA MOHRI | SIBELIUS VIOLIN CONCERTO | ALEXANDER SHELLEY & ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE MONTRÉAL | 2019 CONCOURS MUSICAL INTERNATIONAL DE MONTRÉAL | 3RD PRIZE

Open to violinists of any nationality aged 29 years or younger, Hao will receive $30,000 CAD, a $50,000 CAD career development grant, a modern instrument crafted by a number of Quebec’s finest violin and bow makers – plus a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

This year's audience prize was awarded to Hao Zhou.

This year's prize for the best performance of a sonata work in the Semi-Final stage was awarded to Anna Lee.

This year's prize for the best performance of the newly-commissioned Canadian work in the Semi-Final stage was awarded to Johanna Pichlmair.

The 2019 jury comprised: Zarin Mehta (President), Pierre Amoyal, Kim Kashkashian, Boris Kuschnir, Cho-Liang Lin, Mihaela Martin, Barry Shiffman, Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Pavel Vernikov.

Held triennially, previous Montreal International Violin Competition major prize winners include VC Artists Ayana Tsuji, Bomsori Kim, Minami Yoshida, Benjamin Beilman, Nikita Borioso-Glebsky, Stephen Waarts, Marc Bouchkov and Fedor Rudin.