Violin competition to debut

Until this year, the Gina Bachauer Foundation has sponsored the only international music competition in Utah. But if things go the way Charles Liu hopes, the state will have another competition, this time directed at violinists.

The violinmaker is sponsoring the Stradivarius International Violin Competition, which makes its debut later this week. The four-day event will host 71 young violinists from around the state and Intermountain West area, as well as from the rest of the country. There will also be competitors from Canada, Europe and Asia.

Liu, who builds violins in his shop on State Street in Midvale, originally thought the competition would be a venue for local violinists. "We have a lot of violin players here, especially younger ones who are studying Suzuki violin. We need a competition so they can show their talents. Right now, all they have is the state fair."

Hosting a violin competition was something Liu had toyed with ever since opening his shop six years ago. "Teachers would come to me and tell me that Utah has such a great musical tradition. Basically, they talked me into doing a local competition. And this competition has been made possible because of the support of local players and teachers. It's thanks to them that we're able to do this."

But as Liu started developing the competition, he decided it needed to expand its scope and attract young artists from around the world. "These young players are developing on an international level. My idea was to bring the best players to Utah to compete, and also the best judges."

As it took shape, Liu divided the competition into two large categories. The senior level features violinists between the ages of 17 and 25. For the inaugural competition, 15 young men and women will converge on Salt Lake City to compete for a $10,000 first prize and a solo engagement with the Utah Symphony during the summer of 2008. Among the participants in this group is one Utahn, Sarah Moench.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and his family will be attending the final round, and the governor will award the prizes to the top three finalists.

The youth category has 56 participants, 28 of whom are Utahns. It encompasses youngsters ages 10-16. This category has been divided further according to age to make the competition more fair. There are three different age groups — lower (10-12), middle (13-14) and upper (15-16). "One violinist from each division will go on to the grand finale."

There will be three rounds in the youth category: the preliminary round, which is closed to the public, the semifinal round on Wednesday and the grand finale on Thursday morning.