Jenny & Norman Nelson Concerto Competition
About the competition
Winners 2026
At a wonderful evening of musical offerings by all competitors, the adjudicators selected the following as the winners:
First Prize
Madison Brecht: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op.21
by Fréderic Chopin (accompanied by Jany Lu)
Prize: $500 cash from the sponsor; $250 gift certificate from Long & McQuade and the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra in our 2025/26 season.
Second prize
Kara Gill: Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61
by Ludwig van Beethoven (accompained by Xiaofei Du
Prize: $100 cash from the sponsor
Thanks to adjudicators: Russell Bajer, Kimberly Durflinger and Robert Holliston.
Thanks also to Sheri Katz, Marketing and Community Support Manager and Michael Arenson, Victoria Store Manager, Long and McQuade
From left to right: Adrian Zhang (‘cello), Kira Gill (violin), Madison Brecht (piano), Isidora Uhlman (violin), Hengyu Liu (flute)
This is the 20th anniversary of the competition, now named in honour of our founders. It was Norman Nelson’s vision to encourage young local musicians and give them the opportunity to perform with a full orchestra.
The Jenny and Norman Nelson Concerto Competition is open to instrumental students up to and including the age of 25 years (as of January 1, 2027). They must be studying privately or at an accredited institution on Vancouver Island or the Gulf Islands.
The most recent competition took place on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 7 PM at the Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, University of Victoria, hosted by Daniel Barer, President, Sooke Philharmonic Society.