MINAMI, violinist and recipient of the Nippon Music Foundation's Stradivarius 1716 Violin "Booth", won 2nd Prize and Best Performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto (awarded by the Sibelius family) in the 13th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition held in Helsinki, Finland from 19 - 29 May 2025.


©Matias Ahonen/Jean Sibelius Violin Competition




MINAMI
A native of Nara, Japan. After graduating first class from Toho Gakuen Music High School, MINAMI completed her Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees at the New England Conservatory of Music as a recipient of the Dean's Scholarship. She also received a Soloist Diploma from the Toho Gakuen College of Music as an honor student as well as an Artist Diploma from Tokyo College of Music as an honorary student. She has studied with Miriam Fried, Koichiro Harada and Kyoko Takezawa and is currently studying at the Kronberg Academy under Michaela Martin. She was a finalist at the Hannover and Sibelius International Competitions, as well as received 3rd Prize at the Montreal International Musical Competition in 2016 and bronze medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 2022. She also won the 6th Prize and City of Brussels Prize at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition, resulting in a tour of Belgium through Brussels, Antwerp, and Brugge. She has performed with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, City of Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. She has also collaborated with many notable conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Hannu Lintu, John Storgårds, Andrew Manze and Antony Hermus.