At 27 years old, Australian clarinettist Oliver Shermacher has won the International Aeolus Competition for Wind Instruments at its 11 September Prize Winners’ concert. Performing Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, Shermacher received both the First Prize and the Audience award at the competition, receiving a total of €22,000 in prizes.  The eminent international competition aims to bridge the gap and offer dedicated opportunities to classical wind performers.

Michael-Georg Müller of German daily paper Westfälische Rundschau described Shermacher’s victory as “masterful” and “personal, intimate”.

“Shermacher ignites a spherical weightlessness and transfers the tension to the audience, as one knows it from first-class musicians. No wonder that he not only took first place (€20,000), but also received the audience prize (€2,000) – determined by voting cards. Shermacher won all along the line. Rightly so!”

Clarinettist Oliver Shermacher performs with conductor Vitali Alekseenok and the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker. Photo © Susanne Diesner and Tonhalle.

Shermacher was also the recipient of the 2018 Freedman Fellowship; a prestigious Australian award open annually to musicians under 30, who...