Five students from ZBSM – four violinists and one pianist – took part in the Zurich Youth Classical Contest. In the second round, which took place earlier this March, they won three first prizes, including two with distinction, as well as two second prizes in different age categories.
Our multi-award-winning Professional Programme violinist Sophie Branson (19) secured first prize with distinction in the violin solo category in the senior age group (up to 24 years old).
Another first prize with distinction went to our young pianist Maksut Mukhitdin (9) in the piano solo category in the age group up to 16 years old. Professional Programme violin student Tatjana Filimonova (13) won first prize in the violin solo category in the same age group. Finally, two second prizes in the violin solo category in this age group were awarded to siblings Timmy (12) and Aurea Wang (14).
Sophie is a Professional Programme violin student in the class of Liana Tretiakova. She has been studying violin with her since the tender age of three and a half – since 2010, the year the school was founded.
Maksut is an Advanced Programme piano student. He joined the music school in 2021 and has been studying in the piano class of Rafael Lipstein ever since.
Tatjana, Timmy and Aurea study violin in the class of Inna Khriplovich. All three joined the school in 2019.
Launched this year in the city of Zurich, the Zurich Youth Classical Contest features an international jury and aims to discover and support promising young classical musicians. It provides talented children and teenagers with a professional yet supportive environment in which to present their musical skills and artistic development.
The competition takes place in three stages. In the first preliminary round, held in autumn 2025, participants were selected on the basis of submitted video recordings. The second, qualification round took place live in Zurich from 6 to 8 March 2026. Young musicians who received first prizes in this round advance to the third and final round of the competition, which will take place in Zurich from 17 to 19 April.
Tags: Aurea Wang, Inna Khriplovich, Liana Tretiakova, Maksut Mukhitdin, Sophie Branson, Tatjana Filimonova, Timmy Wang
Categories: Music Competition Awards
