Emad Zolfaghari Wins First Prize in the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition

June 22, 2024, 2:35 PM · LOS ANGELES - Emad Zolfaghari was named first-prize winner in the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition, which concluded Saturday at the Colburn School.

Violist Emad Zolfaghari.

Here are all the prizewinners:

First Prize ($15,000): Emad Zolfaghari, 19, of Canada (Curtis Institute of Music)
Second Prize ($10,000): Kinga Wojdalska, 25, of Poland (Zürcher Hochschule der Kunste)
Third Prize ($5,000): Andy Park, 22, of United States (Yale University)
Transcriptions Prize ($1,000): Kinga Wojdalska
Illuminations Prize ($1,000): Mao Konishi, 28, of Japan (University of the Arts Berlin)
Audience Prize: Emad Zolfaghari

L-R: 2024 Primrose Competition Laureates Kinga Wojdalska, Emad Zolfaghari and Andy Park.

Canadian violist Emad Zolfaghari was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music at age 16, where he currently studies with Hsin-Yun Huang. He is the first-prize winner of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the International Morningside Music Bridge Competition. He is the second-prize winner of the Johansen International String Competition and third-prize winner of the OSM String Competition.

Zolfaghari has appeared as a soloist with several major symphony orchestras, including l’Orchestre Métropolitain under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Montreal Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic, Oakville Chamber Orchestra, and National Metropolitan Philharmonic. His previous mentors include Theresa Rudolph, Caroline Coade, and Shanda Lowery-Sachs.

Zolfaghari has attended Morningside Music Bridge, the Center Stage Strings festival as a junior faculty member, the Perlman Music Program, and Music from Angel Fire. His other awards include grand prize at the OMNI Music Competition, first prize at the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Competition, Guelph Symphony Orchestra Competition and Oakville Chamber Orchestra Competition, second prize at the Ronald Sachs International Music Competition and top and special prizes at the Shean Strings Competition.

The competition began earlier in the week with 21 violists representing 12 countries, with participants ranging in age from 16 to 30, with an average age of 24.

This year's jury included Ayane Kozasa (Jury Chair), Atar Arad, Cathy Basrak, Ensik Choi, Steven Dann, and Geraldine Walther.

If you missed the Finals Concerto concert, you can watch it here:

The concert begins with Emad Zolfaghari performing the Bartok Viola Concerto, followed by Andy Park and then Kinga Wojdalska each performing the Walton Viola Concerto. All candidates performed with Primrose Festival Orchestra, conducted by Elias Peter Brown.

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Emad Zolfaghari Wins First Prize in the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition

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