American violinist Karisa Chiu has won the Gold Medal at the 12th International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, receiving the $75,000 prize at a gala ceremony in the city on Sunday, 4th October.
Chiu was one of six finalists competing in the prestigious competition, which concluded with Saturday night’s Finals before the laureates were announced. The winners were celebrated at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, where each of the six finalists performed and received their medals and special prizes.
Chiu’s Josef Gingold Gold Medal was accompanied by a rose-gold-mounted pernambuco violin bow valued at more than $12,000, made by New York bowmaker Ronald Ji.
She will also receive a recording contract and the chance to make a Carnegie Hall recital debut. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Medalists receive four years of career management and have the opportunity to use instruments from the competition’s collection, including the 1683 “ex-Gingold” Stradivarius, until the next competition in 2030.
Chiu’s performances earned her a string of additional awards. She received the prize for Best Performance of a Classical Concerto for Mozart’s Violin Concerto no. 4, the award for Best Performance of a Violin and Piano Sonata other than Beethoven for Prokofiev’s First Sonata, and prizes for her performances of Jessie Montgomery’s Rhapsody no. 3, Wagner’s Albumblatt and Kreisler’s La Gitana. She also shared the Beethoven Sonata award with pianist Thomas Hoppe for their performance of the Sonata no. 6 in A major.
The Silver Medal, carrying a $30,000 prize, went to Elli Choi, while Aozhe Zhang received the Bronze Medal and $15,000. Xunyue Zhang was named Fourth Place Laureate and received $10,000, with Yesong Sophie Lee taking fifth place and $8,000. Lina Nakano, in sixth place, received $6,000, also winning $5,000 for Best Performance of a Concerto in the Finals for her performance of Bartók’s Violin Concerto no. 2.
The Final performances, with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin, marked the conclusion of the 2026 competition, which brings together emerging violinists from around the world every four years in Indianapolis.
