The three violinists are competing for a first prize package worth CAD70,000
Following the first round of the Concours Musical International de Montréal (CMIM) finals on 3 June, in which five finalists performed a Mozart concerto with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM), three violinists have proceeded to the 4 June grand final. They are: Sara Wanatabe, Laurel Gagnon and Koshiro Takeuchi.
In the 4 June grand final, each violinist will perform a concerto from a provided list with the OSM and conductor Sascha Goetzel at the Maison symphonique de Montréal. Wanatabe will perform Bartók’s Violin Concerto no.2, Gagnon will play Brahms’s Violin Concerto and Takeuchi chose Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.
The 2026 violin edition of the competition saw over 250 applicants, which were whittled down to 24 in the competition’s live first round in Montreal. Ten made their way to the semi-finals, with five then being chosen for the finals.
The three grand finalists are competing for a top prize worth CAD70,000, comprising a cash prize of CAD30,000 and career development prize of CAD40,000. A loan of a fine violin from the Canimex Music Instrument Collection will also be awarded. Second and third prizes are worth CAD25,000 and CAD20,000 respectively, and numerous special prizes and performance engagements will be given.
Several of these special prizes have already been awarded. Laurel Gagnon won both the Canadian Work Prize for the best performance of a Canadian work as well as the Sonata Prize. Both are worth CAD2,500. Koshiro Takeuchi was awarded the Baroque Prize (worth CAD2,500) and Charlotte Spruit was given the Robert Trempe Junior Jury Prize (worth CAD1,500).
Lucie Robert chairs the 2026 competition jury, which comprises Ju-Young Baek, Glenn Dicterow, Simin Ganatra, Yuzuko Horigome, Régis Pasquier, Barry Shiffman and Pavel Vernikov.
CMIM has been held annually since its inception in 2002, rotating between disciplines of violin, piano and voice. The 2023 violin edition was won by Dmytro Udovychenko.
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