02/06/2026
The semi-finalists in New Zealand’s Michael Hill International Violin Competition 2026, generously supported by the Hill Family Foundation for Arts and Music, have been announced.
Following four exceptional days of quarter-finals at the Queenstown Memorial Centre, in which 16 extraordinary violinists from across the world each performed two programmes of work, the judges have selected the following six Competitors to move through to Round III - the Chamber round - in Auckland this week (in their performance order):
Hyein Koo (Seoul)
Tianyou Ma (New York)
Beatrice Colombis (Sydney/Berlin)
Jakow Pavlenko (Berlin)
Julia Wang (Vienna)
Xunyue Zhang (Berlin)
Beatrice Colombis also received the NZD$1000 prize for Best Performance of a New Zealand-commissioned Work - Salina Fisher’s 'Chasm' (please visit our Youtube page to view it).
The semi-finalists each perform a piano quintet with eminent NZ musicians; NZTrio violinist Amalia Hall, cellist Matthias Balzat and pianist Jian Liu, and Auckland Philharmonia violist Robert Ashworth. Following Thursday's semi-final, the finalists will be announced.
The 2026 Michael Hill International Violin Competition will come to its thrilling climax at Auckland Town Hall this Saturday 6 June. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.
Our sincere congratulations to all semi-finalists, and all competitors for an incredible first two rounds.
