2021 Primrose International Viola Competition Begins Today at Colburn School

December 13, 2021, 2:15 PM · The Primrose International Viola Competition begins today in Los Angeles at the Colburn School, with 24 violists competing in live rounds through Friday.

Violist competing in the 2021 Primrose International Viola Competition.

Below is the livestream for the Quarter-Final Round, Day 1 (Click here to watch the livestream throughout the week):

Quarter-finals will take place Monday and Tuesday, with semi-finals on Thursday and the final round and award ceremony on Saturday. A Viola Mini-Fest, with lectures, exhibits, master classes and recitals, also will take place on Friday and Saturday at Colburn. (Stop by and see me on Saturday at the Violinist.com table - we'll be giving away luggage tags for your instrument case and selling "Violinist.com Interviews" books.) Here is a schedule, which includes events for both the competition and mini-fest.

Prizes include a $15,000 first prize; $10,000 second prize; $5,000 third prize; $1,000 transcriptions prize; and a new category, $1,000 prize for the best performance of a work by a BIPOC composer.

The first prize winner will also perform at the 2022 American Viola Society Festival and 47th International Viola Congress in June 2022.

This year's jury includes Barry Shiffman (Chairman), Andrés Cárdenes, Victoria Chiang, Daniel Heifetz, Mai Motobuchi, Dimitri Murrath, and Chauncey Patterson.

Note for those who plan to attend live: Proof of vaccination is required for all patrons; here is a list of safety protocols for the event.

Replies

Karl Winkler

December 14, 2021 at 09:07 PM · The only violist I've heard before that is on the list is Sara Ferrandez - she is amazing! I can only imagine how tough the competition is for these prizes.

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