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The 2026 competition was scheduled to open on Thursday, September 17, launching 16 days of events encompassing the preliminary, semifinal, classical final, and final rounds. In the final round, the competitors will perform with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin.
The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis announced its 16 semifinalists on September 23.
Semifinalists (Age / Country)
Zachary Brandon (27), United States
Karisa Chiu (27), United States
Elli Choi (25), United States
Bade Daştan (19), Türkiye
Corina Deng (18), Canada
Wenlan Jackson (24), United States
Yeyeong (Jenny) Jin (23), South Korea
Donghyun Kim (26), South Korea
Chaeyeon Lee (22), South Korea
Yesong Sophie Lee (22), United States
Chaowen Luo (25), China
Lina Nakano (21), Japan
Audrey Park (23), United States
Sara Watanabe (21), Japan
Aozhe Zhang (18), China
Xunyue Zhang (22), China
The competition offers a prize and benefits package worth more than $350,000. The gold medalist will receive $75,000 in cash, a debut recital at Carnegie Hall in New York, a recording contract, and four years of personal website development and maintenance.
The gold, silver, and bronze medalists will also receive four years of professional management support and international performance engagements—valuable resources as they build their careers.
All six laureates will receive cash prizes and the opportunity to borrow fine violins from the competition’s collection, including the 1683 “ex-Gingold” Stradivarius, until the next edition of the competition in 2030.