Participant
Masha Lakisova
Violin
Accepted to the preliminary round of the 2026 Naumburg International Violin Competition.
Biography supplied for the 2026 competition.
Praised for her “sensitive musicianship and communication” (The Strad), violinist Masha Lakisova is distinguishing herself as one of the unique voices of her generation. She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras worldwide and has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, and Alice Tully Hall. She is winner of the New England Conservatory Concerto Competition and the World’s Biggest Stage Competition, and has taken top prizes at the Stulberg, Klein, Fischoff, and Tibor Junior International Competitions. An avid chamber musician, Masha has appeared at festivals including the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Four Seasons, Norfolk, and North Shore Chamber Music Festival. She has collaborated with many esteemed artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Miriam Fried, Marcy Rosen, Kim Kashkashian, and the Borromeo and Ariel Quartets. Masha received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from New England Conservatory, under the guidance of Miriam Fried. Prior to coming to NEC, she attended Juilliard Pre-College, the Perlman Music Program, and Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. Her primary teachers in her formative years included Itzhak Perlman, Li Lin, Grigory Kalinovsky, Drew Lecher, and Larisa Zhizhin. Masha is passionate about fostering a deep love and appreciation for music in the next generation and currently serves as Violin Faculty and Chamber Music Faculty at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. Miss Lakisova is the proud recipient of a magnificent violin by Giovanni Francesco Pressenda, Turin, 1845 on loan from The Stradivari Society of Chicago thanks to the generosity of her patron, Edward Manzo.
Pianists
2026 International Violin Competition
Rafe Lei Schaberg
, piano
Rafe Lei Schaberg is an American-Taiwanese pianist, composer, and improviser whose work includes solo recitals, chamber music, vocal collaboration, and interdisciplinary projects. He has performed at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Chapman University’s Salmon Recital Hall, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, and the University of California, Irvine’s Winifred Smith Hall. His collaborative experience includes work with the NEC Chamber Singers and with singers and instrumentalists across the conservatory.
Schaberg helped direct the Final Moments series at UC Irvine, which brought dancers, actors, and visual artists together with semi-improvised music. He received Aspen Music Festival fellowships in both instrumental and vocal collaboration for the summers of 2023 and 2024, and appeared as pianist in West End Lyric’s 2024 productions of L’amico Fritz and Out of Darkness / We Will Outlive Them.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in piano performance at New England Conservatory in 2023, studying with Vivian Weilerstein, and continued there in collaborative piano with Weilerstein and Cameron Stowe. His 2025 master’s recital, Forbidden Connections, combined instrumental works and songs by composers including Schumann, Schnittke, Debussy, Harbison, and Ives.