One of the most prestigious string instrument competitions in the world is the Primrose International Viola Competition, which brings together the best and most promising young viola players from around the globe in a week-long event. According to the competition’s official website, this year’s edition was held from June 17 to 22 (corresponding to June 28 to July 2 on the Iranian calendar) in Los Angeles, Southern California. All stages of the competition, along with two public recitals, were open to the public both in person at the Colburn School in Los Angeles and via live stream online.
What made this year’s event particularly noteworthy for Iranians was that the first prize went to Emad Zolfaghari, an Iranian-Canadian violist, who also won the competition’s $15,000 cash award. In addition to the monetary prize, Zolfaghari earned an invitation to perform at the 2026 American Viola Society Festival and a guaranteed spot in the semi-final round of the Young Concert Artists competition.
Originally from Oakville, Ontario, Emad Zolfaghari was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in 2021, where he currently studies viola under the guidance of Hsin-Yun Huang and Misha Amory.
According to the Curtis Institute’s website, Zolfaghari has won numerous prestigious awards, including:
- First prize at the 2023 Irving M. Klein International String Competition
- The Franz Schubert Grand Prize at the 2022 OMNI Music Competition
- Second prize at the 2022 Johansen International String Competition
- In 2023, he made history as the first violist to win first prize at the Morningside Music Bridge International Concerto Competition
His other accolades include:
- Second prize at the 2021 Ronald Sachs International Music Competition
- Fourth prize and the Paul J. Bourret Memorial Prize for best performance of the test piece at the 2021 Shean Strings Competition
- First prize at the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition
Zolfaghari has also appeared as a soloist with several distinguished symphony orchestras, including:
- The Orchestre Métropolitain at Maison symphonique in Montreal under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin
- The Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall
- The National Philharmonic at Strathmore Hall
- The Oakville Chamber Orchestra
- The Metropolitan National Philharmonic
Emad Zolfaghari continues to establish himself as one of the most exciting young talents in the international viola community.