The Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM) will take place this spring with 24 young competitors, and a focus on the violin. The competition drew a record 248 applications from 37 countries, and was open to violinists born between January 1, 1993, and December 31, 2006.
The CMIM is designed as a springboard for elite-level musicians at the early stages of a performing career. The competition was founded in 2001, with the first edition in 2002. Held annually, the focus of the competition cycles through three disciplines — voice, violin, and piano — on a yearly rotation.
Along with the prizes, more than 6,000 audience members, in person, online and on the radio, hear the competitors perform. Over 500 competitors have taken part.
The competitors
The 2023 CMIM Violin candidates are between 17 and 27 years old, and hail from 11 different countries.
- David Bernat, USA
- Claire Bourg, USA
- Aaron Chan, Canada / China
- Elli Choi, USA
- SongHa Choi, South Korea
- Gabrielle Després, USA / Canada
- Leonard Fu, Germany
- Yeyeong Jenny Jin, South Korea
- Lorenz Karls, Sweden
- Yesong Sophie Lee, USA
- SooBeen Lee, South Korea
- Bohdan Luts, Ukraine
- Nathan Meltzer, USA
- Georgii Moroz, Ukraine
- Kyumin Park, South Korea
- Aoi Saito, Japan
- Michael Shaham, Isarel
- Dongyoung Jake Shim, South Korea
- Karen Su, USA
- Ruslan Talas, Kazakhstan
- Dmytro Udovychenko, Ukraine
- Pauline van der Rest, Belgium
- Shihan Wang, China
- Zhixin Zhang, China
“We are delighted to welcome these young and talented violinists to Montreal,” CMIM Executive and Artistic Director, Christiane LeBlanc said in a statement. “The exceptional quality of the selected violinists will undoubtedly offer our audiences a superlative musical experience. What a pleasure to gather around them and our prestigious jury, and to live the thrill of the competition together.”
The jury includes: Zarin Mehta (President of the Jury), Salvatore Accardo, Koichiro Harada, Yura Lee, Michaela Martin, Lucie Robert, Dmitri Sitkovetsky, and Krishna Thiagarajan.
The competition
The first prize winner will receive $80,000, while the second prize is $15,000, and third prize is set at $10,000. Along with the top three accolades, there are additional awards given for the People’s Choice Award, Best Canadian Artist, Best Interpretation of a Sonata, Best performance of a work by J.S. Bach, Best performance of an imposed Canadian work, and others. The Normand Beauchamp Winner’s Tour will take the winner to three cities in North America, a bonus valued at $15,000.
Along with the exposure, travel expenses and accommodation are covered for candidates, as well as for their own collaborative pianist. The first round of live performances in the competition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Bourgie Hall will begin on April 25, 26 and 27, proceeding to the semi-finals on April 29 and 30.
The finals will be held at the Maison symphonique de Montréal, where six finalists will perform with the CMIM orchestra and guest conductor Rafael Payare on May 3 and 4.
More information and tickets here.
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