Violinist Lorna Zhang won the top prize of NZD10,000, following her performance of Shostakovich Violin Concerto no.1
The final of New Zealand’s 2026 National Concerto Competition was held on 7 March at Christchurch Town Hall, where three string players performed a concerto of their choice with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Judd.
21-year-old violinist Lorna Zhang won first prize of NZD10,000 (£4,400), following her performance of Shostakovich Violin Concerto no.1 in A minor. 15-year-old violinist Hayden Chiu won second prize of NZD5,000 performing Wieniawski Violin Concerto no.2, while 14-year-old cellist Ryan Yeh took third prize of NZD2,500 with his performance of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme.
The adjudicators for the 2026 competition were clarinettist and saxophonist Mark Walton, violinist Wilma Smith and violist Donald Maurice.
Zhang has been studying with Stephen Larsen for the past seven years and recently completed her Bachelor of Music degree. She won the University of Auckland Concerto Competition in 2025 and is a two-time winner of the university’s chamber music competition.
She has performed as emerging artist and fellow of the At the World’s Edge Festival in Queenstown. Zhang was awarded the Royal Overseas-League Pettman scholarship which funded a six-week career development tour around the UK and Europe, during which she performed a duo recital at the St. James Piccadilly church in London, and a chamber music concert at Royal Overseas-League with violinist Benjamin Baker and French horn soloist Ben Goldscheider.
The National Concerto Competition was established in 1967 and is open to musicians under the age of 25. Past string winners of the competition include violinists Mark Menzies, Natalia Lomeiko and Amalia Hall, and cellist Ashley Brown.
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