Results from the 5th Mexico IHC

The 5^th Mexico International Harp Competition and Festival took place Nov. 10-18, 2017. The competition included 33 competitors from 11 countries and offered prizes in four separate divisions. The winner from the young professional division, Enea Cavallo, was featured as soloist in a concert with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and is offered the opportunity to perform a concert tour throughout Mexico, in addition to a prize of 2,000 USD.

Founded in 2006, the competition and festival are held every three years in Mexico City. The festival includes concerts, lectures, and masterclasses, with the intent to both promote cultural diversity and introduce the harp to a wider audience. Baltazar Juárez, Principal Harpist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, is the Founder and Artistic Director.

Junior Division:

1^st Prize: Melissa Kim (South Korea and USA)

2^nd Prize: Cyrenius O-Tung Yuen (Canada)

3^rd Prize (tie): Keila Betsabé Lara Soto (Mexico) and Kadieva Zulaykha (Russia)

Intermediate I Division:

1^st Prize: Sze Hoi Sophia Chan (USA)

2^nd Prize: Alejandro Díaz (Colombia)

3^rd Prize: Alondra Máynez Hernández (Mexico)

Honorable Mentions: Petra Barisic (Croatia) and Emanuel Elí Lara Soto (Mexico)

Special Prize – HarpMasters Academy: Emanuel Elí Lara Soto (Mexico)

Intermediate II Division:

1^st Prize: Joana Téllez Sosa (Mexico)

2^nd Prize (tie): Maria Sá e Sousa Carneiro da Silva (Portugal) and Allison Laura Janney (USA)

Young Professional Division

1^st Prize: Enea Cavallo (Italy)

2^nd Prize: Joel Philippe von Lerber (Switzerland)

3^rd Prize: Se Young Hwang (South Korea)

For more information about the competition, please visit http://www.mexihcf.com/. Subscribe today to learn more about the founder of the competition, Baltazar Juárez, who is featured in the latest edition of Harp Column.