{"id":42216,"date":"2026-02-03T08:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T13:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/concoursmontreal.ca\/?post_type=cmim-competitors&p=42216"},"modified":"2026-03-28T13:35:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:35:05","slug":"paloma-so","status":"publish","type":"cmim-competitors","link":"https:\/\/concoursmontreal.ca\/en\/competitors\/paloma-so\/","title":{"rendered":"Paloma So"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI love the endless range of tones and colours I can experiment with on the violin, and the beautiful, almost divine melodies that make my heart glow. When I practice, I enter a meditative state in which I can dissociate from the world around me, calm and invigorated.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

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HOME - CONCOURS 2026<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Canadian-Chinese\u00a0violinist Paloma So is quickly\u00a0emerging\u00a0as one of the leading young artists of her generation.\u00a0She\u00a0studied with Russian pedagogue Zakhar Bron since the age of nine, and graduated in 2023 from the Juilliard School Pre-College Program, under the tutelage of Catherine Cho and Donald Weilerstein. Currently a\u00a0third-year Economics and Music\u00a0concentrator\u00a0at Harvard College, she continues her studies with\u00a0Donald\u00a0Weilerstein\u00a0at\u00a0the New England Conservatory, where she is awarded a full merit scholarship.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paloma is particularly passionate about the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. \u201cHis writing is mesmerizingly intricate, with mind-blowing structure and lines that are intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally powerful \u2013 needless to say, timeless. He can say so much with a single instrument.\u201d She is delighted to have the chance to play his Sonata for Violin and Keyboard n\u00ba\u00a03<\/em> in E major, BWV 1016\u00a0during the First\u00a0Round\u00a0of the Concours 2026, which will mark her debut in Canada. Since her family moved to Hong Kong before she started playing the violin, she\u00a0has not yet had\u00a0the chance to perform in her birth country.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paloma has won prizes at several international competitions, including Second Prize at the Wieniawski International Violin Competition, and First Prize of the Novosibirsk International Violin Competition, where she was the youngest participant in the competition\u2019s history. She was recently named one of Classic FM\u2019s \u201c30 Under 30 Rising Stars\u201d and has been praised by <\/span>The Strad <\/span><\/i>for\u00a0her\u00a0playing that is \u201cpowerful, dramatic, and compelling… awfully good\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She has performed with renowned orchestras such as the London Philharmonic,\u00a0the\u00a0Berlin Symphony,\u00a0the\u00a0China Philharmonic,\u00a0the\u00a0Shanghai Symphony, and\u00a0the\u00a0Hong Kong Philharmonic, and at esteemed venues including\u00a0Buckingham Palace, the\u00a0Berliner\u00a0Philharmonie,\u00a0the\u00a0Mariinsky Theatre, and Tokyo\u2019s Suntory Hall.\u00a0Highlights for the 2025-2026 season include Beethoven\u2019s Violin Concerto<\/em> with the\u00a0North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, Glazunov\u2019s Violin Concerto<\/em> with the Oxford Philharmonic, and Prokofiev\u2019s\u00a0first\u00a0Violin Concerto<\/em> with the China Philharmonic and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra; as well as solo and chamber appearances at the P\u00e4rnu and Verbier festivals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Paloma\u00a0plays\u00a0on the 1707 Stradivarius \u201cLa Cath\u00e9drale\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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PROGRAMME<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

FIRST ROUND<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
<\/strong>Sonata for Violin and Keyboard No. 3 in E major, BWV 1016<\/p>\n