Sara Dragan wins the Princess Astrid Competition

Protegé of Zakhar Bron, the violinist has already won a great number of national and international competitions

Violinist Sara Dragan has won the Princess Astrid International Music Competition in Trondheim, Norway. Second prize went to Jiayi Chen of Shanghai, and third prize was awarded to Sungmin Cho of Seoul, who is currently studying in New York.

Sara Dragan, 1st prize winner

Dragan, 25, was born in Legnica, Poland in 1999 an is currently a student of violin virtuoso Zakhar Bron at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. She has won many music competitions in Poland and abroad, and has performed in prestigious venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Sony Auditorium in Madrid. As a soloist, Dragan has played with numerous orchestras, including the Prague Chamber Orchestra, Novosibirsk Philharmonic, Wroclaw Philharmonic, Armenian State Symphony, Royal Chamber Orchestra, Martinu Philharmonic, Slovak Sinfonietta, and the Polish Wieniawski Philharmonic Orchestra.

She performs on a G.B. Guadagnini violin, generously loaned by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins.

Prize winners; Sungmin Cho (3rd), Sara Dragan (1st), Jiayi Chen (2nd)

Launched in 1953, the Princess Astrid International Music Competition is the longest running music competition in Norway. It is held every two years, alternating between violin and conducting disciplines. The competition has since 1956 enjoyed the royal patronage of Her Highness Princess Astrid Mrs Ferner of Norway, and it is also supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture. Throughout the years many of its laureates have gone on to becoming internationally renowned musicians and soloists.

 

Recent winners of Princess Astrid International Music Competition:

  • Alvin Ho, conducting, 2022
  • Yukari Ohno, violin, 2021
  • Yuwon Kim, conducting, 2018
  • Mayumi Kanagawa, violin, 2016
  • Elena Schwartz, conducting, 2014
  • Miriam Helms Ålien, violin, 2012

Jiayi Chen, 2nd prize winner

Sungmin Cho, 3rd prize winner

Prize:
1st prize: Sara Dragan (25), Madrid
2nd prize: Jiayi Chen (28), Shanghai
3rd prize: Sungmin Cho (23), New York

Jury:
David Grimal (Chair), Tasmin Little CBE, Soyoung Yoon, Christopher Dingstad, Kristīne Balanas, Tobias Ringborg, Cam Kjøll

Artists:
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Anna-Maria Helsing

©︎ WFIMC / FR 2024