Eight Semi-Finalists Announced in 2017 Elmar Oliveira Competition

January 26, 2017, 8:12 PM · Congratulations to the eight semi-finalists announced Thursday in the inaugural Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, taking place this week and next at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL. They are:

Brian Kwan Yeung Choi, 22 of China
Sirena Huang, 22 of the U.S.
Ari Isaacman-Beck, 31 of the U.S.
Alina Ming Kobialka, 19 of the U.S.
Quanshuai Li, 25 of China
Elly Suh, 27 of the U.S./South Korea
Chiharu Taki, 29 of Japan
Hannah Tarley, 25 of the U.S.

The competition also announced that violinist Ari Isaacman-Beck won Composer’s Award for Best Performance of "Dialogues" by Thomas McKinley, which was commissioned by the competition. McKinley is a Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Lynn University.

The eight violinists announced today will take part in the Semi-Finals II on Jan. 30 and 31. Finals will take place February 4 and 5 at the Wold Performing Arts Center in Boca Raton, Fla.

Jury members include Daniel Heifetz (Chairman), Andrés Cárdenes, Gudny Gudmundsdottir, Ilya Kaler, Vera Tsu Wei-ling, Alexander Gilman and Charles Castleman.