Participant
Lina Nakano
Violin
First Prize in the 2026 Naumburg International Violin Competition, announced November 1, 2026.
2026 competition result: First Prize. View Lina Nakano’s prizewinner profile and award details.
Biography supplied for the 2026 competition.
Lina Nakano is acclaimed as one of the most promising young violinists of her generation. She is currently studying at The Juilliard School as a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship under the guidance of Masao Kawasaki. Lina first drew international attention at age ten, winning the Grand Prize at the Arthur Grumiaux International Violin Competition (2015). She later won First Prizes at the 3rd Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians (2019) and the 90th Music Competition of Japan (2021). In 2022, she became the youngest-ever First Prize laureate of the 8th Sendai International Music Competition. She began her musical education at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, where she studied under Chihiro Morikawa and Akiko Tatsumi, and was an Ezaki Scholarship recipient for part of her studies. Since 2015, she has studied with Paul Roczek, whose mentorship has deeply influenced her musical growth and artistic values. She also studied with Dalibor Karvay at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, completing its certificate course in 2024. She also held a ROHM Music Foundation Scholarship (2023–2025). As a soloist, Lina has appeared regularly with Japan’s leading orchestras, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she has given recitals nationwide, released two CDs, and her artistry has been featured across various media. She performs on the 1702 Stradivarius “Lyall,” generously on loan from the ITOH Foundation.
Pianists
2026 International Violin Competition
Jinhee Park
, piano
Jinhee Park is a pianist and conductor whose work spans chamber music, art song, and opera. In partnership with soprano Meredith Wohlgemuth, she won first prize in the art-song division of the 2022 Concours international musical de Montréal and at the 2023 Schubert International LiedDuo Competition in Dortmund. Both competitions also recognized her with their pianist awards. Her instrumental collaborations include performances with violinists Stella Chen and Timothy Chooi, and she served as an official pianist for Montréal’s 2023 violin competition.
Park joined the Chautauqua Institution Voice Conservatory as a vocal coach in 2018 and has worked on operas by Mozart, Bellini, and Ravel. Her conducting began there in 2023 with Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges; in 2025, she was selected for the Carlos Miguel Prieto Conducting Fellowship. She joined Manhattan School of Music’s Vocal Arts faculty in 2024. A graduate of Seoul National University, Park earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at Juilliard and an Artist Diploma at Manhattan School of Music, completing her doctorate in 2025.