MMTA's Bay State Strings Contest is a yearly event which usually takes place near the end of May. The purpose of the contest is to give the most motivated and hard-working string students the opportunity to perform for the judges, who provide written evaluations to each student. The Bay State Strings Contest is truly an artistic event, helping young musicians ages 6-18 express their passion for music.

Ten leading Massachusetts teachers of violin, viola, and cello entered 29 students into this year's contest. This year our judges were Dana and Yuri Mazurkevich, faculty members at Boston University's College of Fine Arts. The judges were particularly impressed by the outstanding young musicians. The contest participants demonstrated mature attitudes and performed very challenging and virtuosic repertoire.

2019 MMTA Bay State Strings Contest Winners

Division I (15 to 18 y/o):

1st Place: Eric Liu (Cello), Student of Ning Tien

2nd Place: Alyssa Chen (Violin), Student of Vera Rubin

Division II A (12 -14 y/o):

1st Place: Alex Yin (Violin), Student of Peter Zazofsky

1st Place: Audrey Sun (Violin), Student of Magdalena Richter

2nd Place: Douglas Zhang (Violin), Student of Anna Kosrsunsky

2nd Place: Amato Tokushide (Violin), Student of Fudeko Cohler

3rd Place: Kathik Seethaeaman (Cello), Student of Ning Tien

Division II B (12-14 y/o):

1st Place: Zoey Long (Viola) Teacher: Vera Rubin

1st Place: Joylyn Kim (Violin) Teacher: Magdalena Richter

2nd Place: Anyuu Inomato Fong (Violin) Teacher: Fudeko Cohler

2nd Place: Peishiuan Lin (Violin) Teacher: Fudeko Cohler

Division 3 (9-11 y/o):

1st Place: Lyudmila Piatkov (Violin), Student of Vera Rubin

1st Place: Kelly Yin (Violin), Student of Fudeko Cohler

2nd Place: Emily Cheng (Violin), Student of Vera Rubin

2nd Place: Isabella Lai (Violin), Student of Anait Arutunian

3rd Place: Lillian Arnold Mages (Violin), Student of Anait Arutunian

3rd Place: Sophia Hoffmann (Violin), Student of Vera Rubin

Division 4 (6-8 y/o):

1st Place: Jihye Yun (Violin), Student of Klaudia Szlachta

2nd Place: Josephine Arnold Moges (Violin), Student of Anait Arutunian

Honorable Mention: Chihua Lin (Violin), Student of Fudeko Cohler