The third Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (SISIVC) will 
take place in Shanghai August 4-25, 2020. The Competition's Organisation 
Committee announced today that it is officially open for global applications. 
In celebration of the centennial birthday of Maestro Isaac Stern in 2020, a 
gala concert has been added to commemorate the longtime friend of China.

After much anticipation, the Organisation Committee revealed the names of the 
all-star panel of jurors -- each of the 13 chosen for their specialties in 
different artistic fields -- ensuring that the contestants will receive diverse 
and comprehensive examination and support. Co-chaired by well-known conductor 
David Stern and violinist and pedagogue Professor Vera Tsu Weiling, the Jury 
Committee also includes legendary artist manager Martin Campbell-White; 
violinist and pedagogue Glenn Dicterow; Director of Programs at the 
Philharmonie de Paris Emmanuel Hondre; violinist and founding member of the 
Shanghai Quartet Weigang Li; renowned violinist Ning Feng; violinist, 
pedagogue, and founding member of the Emerson String Quartet Philip Setzer; 
violinists and pedagogues Hagai Shaham, Joel Smirnoff, Kyoko Takezawa; one of 
the greatest living string players in the world and Grammy Award-winner Maxim 
Vengerov; and celebrated cellist Jian Wang.

Open beginning today -- August 6, 2019 -- applicants are required to complete 
the online application by 23:59 GMT+8 on January 20, 2020 and the video 
submission for pre-selection by 23:59 GMT+8 on February 28, 2020. The public 
rounds to be held in Shanghai include the Quarter-Final Round, Semi-Final Round 
and Final Round. "Twenty-two days in total -- from the press conference to the 
gala concert -- the contestants will be faced with the longest-ever 
competition," said Fedina Zhou. "The length has been increased mainly due to 
the gala concert. It has been newly created to pay tribute to Isaac Stern who 
acted as an ambassador for Sino-American cultural exchange."

With the special anniversary in 2020, the Competition will hold a 
post-competition gala concert dedicated to the documentary From Mao to Mozart, 
which will feature performances by some of the laureates from all three SISIVC 
editions as well as several musicians Isaac Stern coached in the documentary, 
including one of the jurors, Jian Wang.

As an international violin competition offering the largest monetary award in 
the world -- $100,000 -- SISIVC is committed to spreading Chinese works to 
other parts of the world and has created the Best Chinese Work Performance 
Award to drive these efforts. Following the two Chinese concertos performed in 
the past two editions -- Butterfly Lovers by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, and La 
joie de la souffrance by Qigang Chen -- the Competition unveiled the newly 
commissioned Chinese work for the 2020 edition: Violin Concerto No. 2 by Zhou 
Tian, Artist-in-Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) for the 
2019/20 season. 

Its 2015 founding makes SISIVC still quite young among its international peers. 
Yet, it has proved to the world the great support, vitality, and resources a 
"youngster" can provide to young musicians through its rigorous and consistent 
rules, and clear and relentless commitment to excellence. Fedina Zhou said, 
"Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition was born with the 
internationalization of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The increase of SSO's 
global influence also helps enhance that of the other. This year marks the 
orchestra's 140th anniversary, and we will continue to support young artists 
with our network." The consistency enables progressive development of the 
Competition and thus more opportunities and a firmer platform to further the 
careers of musicians from around the world. 

SOURCE: Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition(SISIVC)