Violinist Sharon Zhao (New South Wales) has been crowned the winner of the prestigious John Curro National Youth Concerto Competition (JCNYCC), following a stellar performance at the Old Museum on Sunday 12 October.

Zhao, 17, topped over 25 young string soloists in the 50th edition of the nationwide competition, which honours the late John Curro, founder of the Queensland Youth Orchestras (QYO).

QYO Artistic Director Simon Hewett congratulates Sharon Zhao. Photo © Alex Jamieson

The year-round audition process identifies Australia’s most outstanding violin, viola, cello, and double bass soloists under 18, many of whom have gone on to prominent national and international careers, including Richard Tognetti, Jane Hazelwood, Emily Sun, Li Wei Qin and Ray Chen.

In the competition’s finale, Zhao performed Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 63, joined on stage by fellow finalists, cellists Clara Moloney and Vincent Zhu. Their performances were accompanied by the Queensland Youth Symphony under the batons of QYO Assistant Conductor Zachary Miezio and Artistic Director Simon Hewett.

“I’m deeply grateful to Simon Hewett for his inspiring leadership, and to the entire QYO...