Competitions › Michael Hill International Violin Competition
Michael Hill International Violin Competition
Next edition
No future edition is announced on the official pages we could check.
Overview
Founded by Sir Michael Hill, this New Zealand competition brings 16 selected violinists to Queenstown and Auckland, where they stay with host families and compete in public, livestreamed rounds. The final stages feature a piano quintet round and a concerto final with the Auckland Philharmonia.
- Organiser
- Michael Hill International Violin Competition Board
- Instruments
- Violin
- Category
- Solo violin
- Age limits
- 18-26
Rules & repertoire
Registration & fee
Violinists apply online for one of 16 quarter-final places, selected by a panel.
Rounds & time limits
- Rounds I-II: two halves, 80-90 minutes combined, 16 quarter-finalists
- Round III (semi-final, chamber): 6 competitors, piano quintet
- Grand Final: 3 finalists, concerto with Auckland Philharmonia
Repertoire
Rounds I and II: Bach Adagio and Fuga (or Grave and Fuga) from an unaccompanied sonata, one Paganini caprice (both from memory), a commissioned New Zealand solo work by Salina Fisher (up to 5 min), one violin-piano sonata from a set list, and an ad libitum work. Round III: a piano quintet (Dvorak Op. 81, Schumann Op. 44 or Shostakovich Op. 57). Grand Final: one concerto from a list of 14 with the Auckland Philharmonia (2026 edition).
Jury & prizes
Jury
- James Ehnes
- Josef Spacek
- Vera Tsu Weiling
- Natsuko Yoshimoto
- Andrew Beer
- Edward Dusinberre
- Geneva Lewis
- Alastair Carruthers (chair)
Prizes
- 1st: NZ$40,000, Atoll recording, Winner's Tour, professional development programme, gold and diamond pendant
- 2nd: NZ$10,000
- 3rd: NZ$5,000
- 4th: NZ$4,000
- 5th: NZ$3,000
- 6th: NZ$2,000
- Best performance of NZ commissioned work: NZ$1,000
- Chamber Music Prize: NZ$1,000
- Sheila Smith Prize: three-year loan of a Domenico Montagnana violin
Past editions
- 2026 — Queenstown and Auckland source
1st: Beatrice Colombis; 2nd: Tianyou Ma - 2023 — Queenstown and Auckland source
1st: Yeyeong Jenny Jin - 2019 — Queenstown and Auckland source
1st: Anna Im - 2017 — Queenstown and Auckland source
1st: Ioana Cristina Goicea - 2015 — Queenstown and Auckland source
1st: Suyeon Kang
Summarised from official sources, last checked 10 Nov 2026. Main source