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World Cup of the Viola returns to Los Angeles

Competitions

19-year old Emad Zolfaghari wins First Prize at the Primrose international Viola Competiton

Out of 21 live competitors at the 17th Primrose international Viola Competition,19-year old Emad Zolfaghari won first prize of $15,000, as well as an invitation to perform at the 2026 American Viola Society Festival and an invitation to participate in the semi-finals of the Concert Artists Guild Competition. Zolfaghari also won the audience prize.

The 17th Primrose Competition took place at the Colburn School in Los Angeles from June 17 through 22, presented by the Colburn School and the American Viola Society.

Prize winners; Kinga Wojdalska (2nd prize), Emad Zolfaghari (1st prize), Andy Park (3rd prize)

Emad Zolfaghari was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music at age 16, where he currently studies with Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory.

He is co-principal viola of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and has been the recipient of many prestigious awards, most recently being awarded the second prize at the 2022 Johansen International String Competition and the François Schubert Grand Prize at the 2022 OMNI Music Competition. 

Emad Zolfaghari has appeared as a soloist with several major symphony orchestras, most recently with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Roy Thomson Hall and the Oakville Chamber Orchestra in May of 2022. He will also be a guest soloist with the Orchestre Métropolitain in Maison symphonique twice, the National Philharmonic in Strathmore Hall and the Guelph Symphony Orchestra in the 2022/23 season.

Emad Zolfaghari, 1st prize winner

Zurich-based Kinga Wojdalska (25)  won second prize of $10,000, as well as the transcriptions prize of $1,000 for her own transcription and performance of Grażyna Bacewicz’s Polish Capriccio. Third prize went to Andy Park of New Haven, CT (22), who received $5,000. 

Kinga Wojdalska, 2nd prize winner

Andy Park, 3rd prize winner

During the final competition round, Emad Zolfaghari performed Bela Bartók’s Viola Concerto (ed. Serly) and Kinga Wojdalska and Andy Park performed William Walton’s Viola Concerto with the Colburn Orchestra, led by Elias Peter Brown, a Salonen Fellow in the Negaunee Conducting Program at the Colburn Conservatory.

The live round competition jury included  Ayane Kozasa (Jury Chairman, United States), Atar Arad, Cathy Basrak, Ensik Choi, Steven Dann, and Geraldine Walther.

Founded in 1979 as the first international competition solely for violists, the Primrose International Viola Competition is proud of the rich history and legacy it promotes. Over 40 years, the Competition has continued to attract distinguished jurors and talented participants worldwide, serving as an inspiration to young artists across the globe. The Competition has an international reputation for identifying the talent of tomorrow and is respected for its artistic and professional integrity. Its laureates occupy principal seats of major symphony orchestras, act as professors in major centers of education, and have achieved critical acclaim as international soloists. 

The next Primrose Competition will take place in Los Angeles in 2027.

Final Round at Zipper Hall

Prizes:
1st Prize: Emad Zolfaghari(19), Philadelphia
2nd Prize: Kinga Wojdalska (25), Zürich
3rd prize: Andy Park(22), New Haven

Jury:
Ayane Kozasa(Chair), Atar Arad, Cathy Basrak, Ensik Choi, Steven Dann, Geraldine Walther

Artists:
Concerto round: Primrose Festival Orchestra / Elias Peter Brown (Conductor)
Chamber music round: Denis Bouriakov (flute) , Cristina Montes Mateo (harp)

 

©️ WFIMC 2024