Chinese violinist Ying Fu has won first prize at the Schmidbauer International Young Artist Strings Competition in Nacogdoches, Texas. The 26-year-old, who is a student at Rice University, where he studied with the late Sergiu Luca, received $7,500 for his first place in the senior division. Violinist Xiaoxiao Qiang, 23, from China, took second prize. Third prize went to violist Born Lau, 21, from Hong Kong.

The winner of the first prize in the junior division was 17-year-old New York-born violinist Kevin Lin, a student of Patinka Kopec at the Manhattan School of Music.

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