New Zealand-born violinist Benjamin Baker has won the fourth
Windsor Festival International String Competition. The 23-year-old
(pictured), who is studying with Natasha Boyarsky at the Royal
College of Music, received £5,000, engagements, a solo recording
with Champs Hill Records and a violin bow. As part of the prize,
Baker will give a concerto performance in Windsor Castle on 27
September, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Nicholas
Collon.
Second prize went to US-born Japanese violinist Yuka Ishizuka, 25,
and 26-year-old Marisol Lee from South Korea, also a violinist,
came third. In total, violin players made up six of the eight
semi-finalists this year, with one violist and one cellist also in
the running. The jury included violinist Erich Gruenberg, viola
player Paul Silverthorne and cellist Thomas Demenga.
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