Juries
Concours 2026 – Juries
The 2026 international jury is chaired by violinist Lucie Robert. It brings together leading and influential figures from the international violin community: Ju-Young Baek, Glenn Dicterow, Simin Ganatra, Yuzuko Horigome, Régis Pasquier, Barry Shiffman and Pavel Vernikov.
The members of the jury for the edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal bring invaluable expertise to the Montreal competition. Many competitors come to Montreal in order to be heard by this jury, and to benefit from the valuable advice of these distinguished individuals once their participation is over.
From the balcony of Bourgie Hall and of Maison symphonique de Montréal, the jury attentively listens to all the rounds of the competition, determining the laureates and special prize winners who will share prizes and grants with a value of more than $150,000.
Lucie Robert
President of the Jury
Concours musical international de Montréal – 2026
* * *
jury préliminaire
The preliminary jury for the Concours 2026 was composed of six renowned violinists and expert pedagogues, based in Asia, Europe, and Canada: Timothy Chooi, Mengla Huang, Michiko Kamiya, Mayumi Seiler, Livia Sellin, and Guillaume Sutre.
This esteemed panel was entrusted with the immense task of evaluating all 250 applicants from 37 countries, and ultimately selecting the 24 exceptional violinists invited to compete in Montreal.
In this crucial first stage of the competition, the jury sought to identify violinists who demonstrated not only technical mastery but also a distinctive artistic voice. To ensure impartiality, jury members did not have access to applicants’ names, nationalities, schools, teachers, as well as performance and / or competition experience. Their judgment rested solely on the three required audition videos submitted by each candidate, as well as the applicant’s age. Each application consisted of one Caprice for solo violin by Paganini, any fugue by J.S. Bach, as well as a slow movement from any of Beethoven’s violin sonatas, except for No. 9 (“Kreutzer”).
Three members of the jury first carefully listened to and evaluated all 250 submissions. The 72 applicants with the highest ratings then advanced to a second round of preliminary evaluation, where they were heard by the three remaining members of the jury. From this group, the final 24 competitors — along with alternates — were selected.
The Concours salutes the members of the preliminary jury for their devotion, discernment, and rigour in this important first step of the competition.
TIMOTHY CHOOI:
Internationally acclaimed violinist Timothy Chooi has mesmerized global audiences with his virtuosity and emotional depth. Chooi’s accolades include First Prize at the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition and the “Yves Paternot Prize” at the Verbier Festival. He has graced renowned orchestras and prestigious venues, earning glowing reviews. Born in Canada to Chinese-Indonesian parents, Timothy rose to prominence at sixteen, performing with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Currently a Professor of Violin at the University of Ottawa, he plays two exceptional violins: the Titan Guarneri Del Gesu violin from 1741, on loan from CANIMEX INC. in Drummondville, Quebec, and the Engleman Stradivarius violin from 1709, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation in Japan.
MENGLA HUANG:
The acclaimed Chinese violinist Mengla Huang is a professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He came to international attention after winning gold at the 1st Sendai International Music Competition, as well as First Prize at the 49th Paganini International Violin Competition. As a soloist, Mengla Huang collaborates with many leading orchestras and has frequently appeared at concert halls around the world, such as Carnegie Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie, and Royal Albert Hall, performing under the baton of such distinguished conductors as Neeme Järvi, Jonathan Nott, Edo de Waart, among many others. A longtime recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, and other labels, Mengla Huang has recorded a wide range of solo and chamber music repertoire, including Paganini’s caprices as well as works by leading contemporary composers. Mengla Huang has served as a jury member in many international music competitions, viewing music education and fostering the next generation of violinists as a personal responsibility.
MICHIKO KAMIYA:
First Prize winner at the Hannover Competition in 1997 and the second prize at the Paganini in 1992, Michiko Kamiya has performed with the London Philharmonic, the NDR Symphony, the Stockholm Chamber, the New Zealand Symphony and the NHK Symphony Orchestras, under the directions of Charles Dutoit, Myung-Whun Chung and Rudolf Barshai, among others. She has appeared as a guest at the Aspen, Verviers, Ravinia and Kuhmo Festivals. As a chamber musician, she has performed with Regis Pasquier, David Geringas, Olivier Charlier, and the Tokyo String Quartet. She is founder and musical director of the Ensemble Art Vivant, a chamber orchestra in Tokyo. She studied with Koichiro Harada at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School of Music, and Gyorgy Pauk in London. Having previously taught at the École Normale de Musique in Paris, she is now professor at the Toho Gakuen School of Music.
MAYUMI SEILER:
A violinist of impeccably tailored artistry, Mayumi Seiler is renowned for her exciting performances of concerto, recital, and collaborative works, both live and on recordings. She has graced stages from New York’s Carnegie Hall to London’s Royal Albert Hall for The Proms, and has appeared as concerto soloist with major symphonies around the globe, including the Royal Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, Moscow Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Montréal Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Seiler founded Toronto’s Via Salzburg, a string orchestra and chamber music series acclaimed as “One of the best roads to our musical hearts” (Toronto Star). Apassionate teacher, Mayumi Seilerserves as faculty at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto. She has held a professorship at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg, has given masterclasses worldwide, and has adjudicated at numerous international violin competitions. Mayumi Seiler performs on the 1684 Croall Stradivarius.
LIVIA SELLIN:
Violinist Livia Sellin is professor of violin and chamber music at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, where she is also head of the strings department. She is a founding member of the Trio Alba piano trio with which she performs all over the world at renowned festivals and major concert halls, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Quincena Musical in Spain, the Ottawa chamber music festival, and at the Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires. The ensemble’s tours have taken them not only to numerous European countries, but to all five continents. Four recordings have been released to date on the German label MDG, for which the ensemble has received excellent international reviews and twice won the Pasticcio Prize from Austrian National Radio Ö1. Born in Heidelberg, Germany, Livia Sellin studied violin in Freiburg, Germany, and at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria.
GUILLAUME SUTRE:
Guillaume Sutre won his first international violin competition at the age of only 18. He first studied with Gerard Poulet and Jean-Claude Pennetier at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, then went to Indiana University (Bloomington) to work with Josef Gingold and Menahem Pressler, among others, and to Köln to study with members of the Quatuor Amadeus. Passionate about chamber music, he founded the Trio Wanderer in 1987 and was first violinist of the Quatuor Ysaÿe for almost 20 years, until their very last concert in January 2014. His vast repertoire includes over 500 works played in concert, among them the complete chamber works for strings by Beethoven, Brahms, and Haydn’s 68 string quartets. He also perfoms as solo violinist alongside some of the most prestigious orchestras around the world. Sutre joined the Faculté de musique de l’Université de Montréal in 2021 where he is now a full professor of violin and chamber music.
