Eight young ZBSM violinists won first prizes in four age categories at the MingClassics Academy & Competition, with seven of them also receiving special prizes. This international event took place in the Swiss luxury resorts of Andermatt and Vitznau from July 13 to 23, 2025.
Founded in 2018 by Xiaoming Wang, an internationally acclaimed violinist and concertmaster of the Zurich Philharmonia, the MingClassics Festival and Academy in Switzerland attracts hundreds of young musicians from around the world each year. In 2025, eight ZBSM violin students of different ages took part in the academy’s masterclasses and competition, and all eight were awarded first prizes by the international jury:
We warmly congratulate our ZBSM violinists on their outstanding results and are proud of their achievements at this international competition.
Six ZBSM participants—Kimia, Sophie, Timmy, Aurea, Katharina, and Tatiana—also received special prizes in the form of a performance of a Mozart concerto with orchestra at the Kultur Kulinarik Chamber Music Hall in the resort town of Vitznau. Mila and Aron, the two youngest ZBSM participants, were invited to take part in piano-accompanied recitals at the same venue.
Following the orchestral performances, the audience voted for their favourite performer, and the Audience Prize was awarded to Sophie Branson (pictured above).
Aron, Mila, Katharina, Aurea, Timmy, and Tatiana are Advanced Programme students at the Zakhar Bron School of Music, studying violin in the class of Inna Khriplovich, one of the school’s most successful teachers. Kimia and Sophie are Professional Programme students and study at ZBSM with Liana Tretiakova, the school’s founder and leading violin teacher.
Notably, both ZBSM teachers were invited to teach at the festival’s violin masterclasses—an invitation they gladly accepted. While this marked Liana Tretiakova’s first participation in the festival, Inna Khriplovich previously taught at the MingClassics masterclasses in 2021, 2022, and 2024.
The festival was founded by Xiaoming Wang, first violinist of the Stradivari Quartet. He has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras worldwide and appeared at major venues including Lincoln Center in New York, the Vienna Musikverein, Wigmore Hall in London, the Sydney Opera House, and China NCPA. His friends call him Ming, which inspired the name of the festival.
Maestro Wang is a close partner and long-standing friend of the Zakhar Bron School of Music. Over recent years, he has given several successful violin masterclasses at ZBSM.
Photo credit: Ernst Rudin (1, 2) and Pavel Shudnev (3).
Tags: Aron Wallerstein, Aurea Wang, Inna Khriplovich, Katharina Filimonova, Kimia Corke, Liana Tretiakova, Mila Sabella, Sophie Branson, Tatjana Filimonova, Timmy Wang
Categories: Music Competition Awards
