Chloe Chua, an 11-year-old Singaporean violinist, has won the first prize in the junior division of the Menuhin Competition.

Olympics of the Violin

Her victory on April 20 is stunning as the Menuhin Competition has been dubbed the Olympics of the Violin, which is the world’s leading competition for young musicians under the age of 22.

The competition is held every two years in a different city around the world.

It was founded by legendary violinist Yehudi Menuhin in 1983.

Joint-first

Chloe shares the win with 10-year-old Australian boy Christian Li. This is the first time in the competition’s history that the first prize in the junior division is being shared.

The results of the competition were announced in Geneva, Switzerland, last Friday.

Chloe and Christian will each receive 10,000 Swiss francs (S$13,500) and a one-year loan of a fine old Italian violin by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins.

At the junior final round last Friday, Chloe played Self In Mind by Jaehyuck Choi and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons: Winter.

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Musical prodigy

When she was four years old, Chloe joined the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts’ School Of Young Talents Gifted Young Violinist Preparatory Course.

Her award-winning talent had seen her place first at the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in 2017 and the Thailand International String Competition in 2015.

Her father works in the food and beverage sector and her mother is a piano teacher. She is the only child.