NEC Violinists Major Prizewinners

NEC-trained violinists, including current students and recent alumnae, took major prizes in two top violin competitions last week. Tessa Lark ’11, ’12 M.M. won the Silver Medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI), while Dami Kim ’10, ’12 M.M. ’13 G.D. took Fourth Place and Yoo Jin Jang ’12 M.M. ‘13 G.D. ‘15 A.D. took Fifth out of the field of six finalists. Robyn Bollinger ’13, ’15 M.M. won Sixth Prize in the Fritz Kreisler Competition in Vienna.

Lark (in photo right), who was the highest ranked American in the Indianapolis competition since Ida Kavafian also won the silver medal in 1982, took home the $15,000 second prize. She also won two special awards including the best performance of the commissioned required work, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Fantasy for Solo Violin and best performance of a Eugene Ysaye solo sonata. Her performance of the Walton Violin Concerto with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra on Friday night (a work she also performed at NEC in 2010) was praised by critic Jay Harvey who commended “I would easily put aside the controversy to admire her choice of this concerto—its first performance in nine quadrennial Indianapolis competitions—and the way she played it.  The score has a mercurial nature that seems to appear to her.”

Both of NEC’s other prize winners won special awards as well.  Dami Kim ($7000 fourth prize) won the $1000 award for the best performance of a Beethoven Sonata and the $2500 award for best performance of a classical concerto by Mozart, in this case Concerto No. 5, K. 219. Yoo Jin Jang ($6000 fifth prize) won the $1000 award for best performance of a sonata other than Beethoven for her playing of John Corigliano’s Sonata in the semifinal round.

Another NEC-trained violinist Nancy Zhou, who did not advance beyond the semi-final round did, however win the $1000 prize for best performance of two Paganini Caprices.

In the Fritz Kreisler Competition, held in Vienna September 9—18, Bollinger (in photo right) was awarded €5,000. In the several rounds, she performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto, Paganini Caprices, and a contemporary work, laspis, by NEC alumna and fellow Entrepreneurial Musicianship grant winner, Katie Balch ’14 Tufts/NEC.

All of the violinists have been or are students of Miriam Fried.

For further information, check the NEC Website.