Bravo to everyone who applied to the 2026 Concerto Competition. We received over 100 applications from 22 countries, showcasing an extremely high level. Congratulations to our winners :

1st Prize : Marley Erickson (violin), Starla Breshears (cello), Pearl de la Motte (viola)

2nd Prize : Matej Mijalic (violin) Ombeline Mariera (cello) and Zihan Zhang (viola)

3rd Prize : Sofiko Tchimburidze (violin), Ecmel Bildik (violin), Valerie Breshears (violin), Ezekiel Sokoloff (violin), Malika Bekturova (violin), Hehe Qi (viola), Ivan Cherednichenko (cello), Ziqi Yu (cello), and Eduard Dos Santo (bass)

All other applicants will be notified of their admission to the 2026 Academy soon.

Each year the Shkolnikova Academy organizes a concerto competition. The winners will have the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Academy String Orchestra conducted by Dmitry Sitkovetsky, and receive a scholarship to the Academy where they will receive tuition, room and board.

The application is open to instrumentalists aged 14 - 26 in the following disciplines : violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Applicants must submit a video of two contrasting styles by January 15, 2026. Please note that the submitted video(s) do not necessarily need to feature the selected concerto.

Winner(s) will be announced in Februaty, 2026 and the Academy will decide together with the winner(s) which piece will be performed as soloist with the Shkolnikova Academy String Orchestra. The concert will take place between August 3rd and 13th, 2026. Winner(s) are expected to be present during this time at the Academy and are responsible for their own transportation to and from the Chateau.

Watch performances of the 2025 winners on our YouTube channel: Shkolnikova Academy - YouTube

Results of the 2025 Concerto Competition

1st Prize (solo performance + full scholarship):

Alejandro Gomez Parea, Sofya Devutskaia, Dustin Breshears

2nd Prize (solo performance + tuition scholarship) :

Anna Lilla Szekely, Henry Quan, Jelin Lee, Yuen Cyrus, Jiahe Zhan

3rd Prize (alternate for solo performance and partial scholarship) :

Jieun Son, Erika Hubbard, Svetlana Kondrateva, Cristina Dimitrova, Lyam Kaleo Gabriel Chenaux, Melissa Lam, Darin Lambrev, Evangeline Lien