Menuhin Violin Competition Richmond 2021 Begins This Week with First Round

By Laurie Niles: The first round of the virtual Menuhin Violin Competition is under way this week, and it is providing some compelling listening! The Junior First Rounds started yesterday and will finish today, and the Senior First Round will take place Wednesday and Thursday. You can watch them below, or on the Menuhin Competition YouTube Channel. Junior and Senior semi-finalists will be announced after the last competitor in each section, on April 27 and 29, respectively. Here are some videos to get you started: Below are the performances from Day 2 of the Junior First Rounds, featuring 11 young violinists from around the world in pre-recorded entries released today: Emrik Revermann, 12, Canada/Germany; Edward Walton, 15, Australia/UK; Sooeon Kim, 13, Korea; Jinan Laurentia Woo, 13, Korea; Seohyun Kim, 12, Korea; Raphael Nussbaumer, 15, Switzerland; Fiona Khuong-Huu, 14, Japan/France/USA; Keila Wakao, 15, Japan / USA; Natsuho Murata, 13, Japan; Mei Kaneko, 15, Japan; Kento Hong, 14, USA/Japan/Taiwan: And below are the performances from Day 1 of the Junior First Rounds, featuring 11 young violinists from around the world in pre-recorded entries released Monday: Yixuan Jiang, 16, China (00:21); Na Hyun Kyun, 16, Korea/USA (20:21); Boha Moon, 14, Korea (42:36); Seohyeon Park, 15, Korea (1:05:10); Hannah Wan Ching Tam, 15, China (1:27:30?); Hankyoung Chang, 13, Korea (1:50:30); Guido Sant'Anna, 15, Brazil (2:15:26); Dawid Kasprzak, 15, Poland (2:38:00?); Shannon Ma, 15, USA (2:58:30); Corina Deng, 13, Canada (3:21:36); Kayleigh Kim, 16, USA (3:43:35); Semi-finals in the Menuhin Competition will take place virtually May 15 and 16, with Finals on May 21 and 22 and a Gala Presentation May 23. Jurors for 2021 include: Pamela Frank (Chair), Joji Hattori (Vice-Chair), Noah Bendix-Balgley, Aaron Dworkin, Alf Richard Kraggerud, Piers Lane, Valentina Peleggi, Soyoung Yoon, and Angelo Xiang Yu. Other events associated with the 2021 Menuhin Competition include:

• May 8 - Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) presents a virtual “Violin Day” with Mark O’Connor
• May 14 and 15: Richmond Symphony - in-person concert with world premiere of the Mason Bates piece commissioned for the Competition to kick off the Richmond, Va. host city part of the competition.
• May 17 – Performance: Regina Carter, jazz violinist and MacArthur Fellow
• May 18 – Performance: Chloe Chua and Christian Li, joint winners of the Junior 1st Prize from 2018
• May 19 – Performance: Mark O’Connor and Maggie O’Connor, American violin/fiddle
• May 20 – Performance: Sphinx Virtuosi chamber orchestra
• May 21 – Panel discussion: The Danger of a Single Story: The Importance of Diversity, Equity Inclusion in the Arts and their Role in Society with Aaron Dworkin and Dr. Ronald Crutcher

TwoSet Violin will also make several appearances throughout the competition. Click here for a full schedule.You might also like:

• Participants Announced in Menuhin Violin Competition 2020 in Richmond, Va.
• The Menuhin Competition 2020 Is Postponed For a Year Due to Covid-19
• Gordon Back and the History of the Menuhin Competition