2024 Primrose International Viola Competition & American Viola Society Festival Program Book

2024 American Viola Society Festival Competition Finalists

Victoria Skinner Tampa, FL Student of Rictor Noren

Victoria Skinner is a violist and violinist currently pursuing a master’s degree in music performance at the Boston Conservatory under Rictor Noren. She is an avid performer of chamber music, being the founding violist for the Ancroft String Quartet and the Burbank String Quartet. In March 2024, she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Burbank String Quartet, performing a world premiere of a quartet by Grigori Balasanyan. Alongside her chamber music activities, she also has a passion for teaching, and runs a private studio of young violinists and violists aged 11 to 21. She has earned a Bachelor of Music Performance degree with a minor in Entrepreneurship from the University of South Florida.

Nilli Tayid Cincinnati, OH Student of Jeffrey Irvine

Nilli Tayidi is a rising 3rd year student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she is pursuing a B.M. in Viola Performance under the tutelage of Jeffrey Irvine. As an orchestral musician, she has had the opportunity to play under esteemed conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Carl Topilow, and Octavio Más-Arocas. Nilli's summer festival experiences at Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival and the Meadowmount School of Music have allowed her to study with prolific teachers such as Sheila Browne, Susan Dubois, Patricia McCarty, among others.

Senior Solo Competition Finalists

Dustin Breshears San Francisco, CA Student of Jonathan Vinocour

Dustin, age 17, is a violinist and violist studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Pre-college Division. He studies violin with Nancy Zhou and viola with Jonathan Vinocour. Dustin has soloed with 14 different orchestras since the age of six. Dustin’s sibling quartet, the Breshears String Quartet, won the Silver Medal in the 2024 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. He has won numerous solo awards, including winner Parnassus-San Francisco Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition, 1st Place MTAC State VOCE Competition, winner

Palo Alto Philharmonic Concerto Movement Competition, 1st Place Bay Philharmonic Young Artist Competition, 1st Place Mary Jane Beck Young Artist Competition (Nova Vista Symphony), 1st place California Youth Symphony Young Artist Competition, among other notable competitions.

Sumin Cheong South Korea Student of Stephen Wyrczynski

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