Hyun Jae Lim Wins the 2026 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition

January 18, 2026, 9:41 PM · Violinist Hyun Jae Lim has been named the First Prize Winner in the 2026 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (EOIVC).

Violinist Hyun Jae Lim. Photo courtesy EOIVC.

Here are all of the prizewinners:

First prize ($30,000): Hyun Jae Lim, 28, of South Korea
Second prize ($15,000): Yiyang Hou, 21, of China
Third prize ($10,000): Sameer Agrawal, 20, of the United States
Fourth prize ($5,000): Julia Jones, 21, United States

The Oliveira competition started on Jan. 8 at Lynn University Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Fla, and the Final Concert took place Sunday, when each of the four finalists performed with the Lynn Philharmonia, conducted by Gerald Karni.

If you didn't catch the Finals, you can see the concert below: It's cued up to start with Hyun Jae Lim's performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto. Sameer Agrawal's performance of the Sibelius begins at 30:43; Yiyang Hou's performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto begins at 1:08:50; and Julia Jones' performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto begins at 2:11:00.

Special prizes also went to Hyun Jae Lim, who also won the Best Performance of the EOIVC-Commissioned Work, "Wood-Sprite" by Melinda Wagner; and Best Performance of an Ysaÿe Solo Sonata.

Additional first-place prizes include artist management and public relations support, a new violin made by Phillip Injeian, a gold-mounted bow by Vladimir Radosavljevic, a carbon violin case, and more than 30 guaranteed national and international performances.

Hyun Jae Lim has appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Houston Symphon and has received numerous awards worldwide, including prizes at the Menuhin Competition in Geneva, the Ima Hogg Competition, the Alfred M. Greenfield Competition, and the Singapore International Violin Competition. As a chamber musician, she has performed at major festivals and collaborated with renowned artists such as Vadim Gluzman, Gary Hoffman, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Atar Arad, Peter Wiley, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, and Steven Tenenbom. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Midori Goto, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and Arnold Steinhardt, and is currently pursuing her master’s degree there.

Past winners of the EOIVC include Hina Khuong-Huu (2023), Julian Rhee (2020) and Sirena Huang (2017 - the competition's inaugural year).

The jury for EOIVC 2026 includes Chairman Andrés Cárdenes, Ilya Kaler, Ida Kavafian, Irina Muresanu, Philip Setzer, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, and Kyoko Takezawa.

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Hyun Jae Lim Wins the 2026 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition

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