Violin 2026: Jury

Jury Biographies

Icelandic violinist Sibbi Bernhardsson joined the Oberlin Conservatory faculty in 2017 after performing for the previous 17 years with the Pacifica Quartet, with which he won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance, Musical America Ensemble of the Year honors, and the Avery Fisher Career Grant.

As a member of the Pacifica Quartet, Bernhardsson appeared in more than 90 concerts worldwide each year, including engagements in Wigmore Hall (London), the Vienna Konzerthaus, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall (New York), and other major venues. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival, Ravinia, Music@Menlo, and the Reykjavík Arts Festival, and has collaborated with Menahem Pressler, Yo-Yo Ma, Jörg Widmann, Lynn Harrell, Leon Fleisher, the Emerson String Quartet, Johannes Moser, and members of the Guarneri and Cleveland quartets. His television appearances include The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, and the MTV Europe Music Awards with Icelandic artist Björk. He appears on 16 recordings with the Pacifica Quartet and has recorded the violin music of Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson and the sonatas for violin and piano by Franz Schubert.

Bernhardsson serves as director of the Cooper International Violin Competition at Oberlin and as artistic director of Iceland’s Harpa International Music Academy. He gives regular concerts and master classes in the United States, Europe, and Asia, and has appeared as a soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra, CityMusic Cleveland, and other ensembles.

Bernhardsson is a 1995 graduate of Oberlin Conservatory. His teachers include Guðný Guðmundsdóttir, Almita and Roland Vamos, Mathias Tacke, and Shmuel Ashkenasi. He previously served on the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

A charismatic and deeply communicative artist, violinist Jinjoo Cho has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Orquesta Clásica Santa Cecilia de Madrid, Ensemble Appassionato (France), Seoul Philharmonic, as well as the North Carolina, Phoenix, and Charlotte symphonies.  She has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Karina Canellakis, JoAnn Falletta, Michael Francis, James Gaffigan, Moritz Gnann, Mathieu Herzog, Pietari Inkinen, Tito Muñoz, Kent Nagano, Peter Oundjian, Clemens Schuldt, Michael Stern, and Shi-Yeon Sung.

Equally devoted to chamber music, Jinjoo shares the stage with distinguished international artists including Ray Chen, Vadim Gluzman, Itamar Golan, Clive Greensmith, Gary Hoffman, Jaime Laredo, Andreas Ottensamer, Sharon Robinson and Roger Tapping.  In 2021, she co-founded the Trio Seoul with pianist Kyu Yeon Kim and cellist Brannon Cho.

Winner of 1st prizes at prestigious international competitions — Indianapolis, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Schoenfeld, and Stulberg—Jinjoo has captivated audiences worldwide since the age of 11.  Her international career spans major concert halls and festivals: Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium), Aspen Music Festival, Gilmore Festival, and La Jolla SummerFest (USA); the Banff Centre and Festival de Lanaudière (Canada); La Seine Musicale and Festival d’Aigues-Vives (France); Kronberg Academy, Schwetzingen Festival, and the Herkulessaal (Germany); Teatro Colón (Argentina); and the Seoul Arts Center (Korea).

A passionate educator and arts leader, Jinjoo is the Founding Artistic Director of the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute and she currently serves as Associate Professor of Violin at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. She has previously taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, and the Schulich School of Music at McGill University (Canada). As a mentor and advocate for young artists, she has served on the jury of international competitions such as the Indianapolis Violin Competition (2022), Schoenfeld (China, 2024), and selection committees for the Montreal Competition (2019, 2023) and the Premio Paganini (Italy, 2023).

Jinjoo’s discography includes four acclaimed albums: Saint-Saëns (Naïve Classique), La Capricieuse (Sony Classical), The Indianapolis Commissions (Azica), and Jinjoo Cho (Analekta).  Praised for her “silken thread of violin sound” (Rondo Magazine) and “delightful curtain raiser” (Strad Magazine), her recordings have received both critical acclaim and commercial success.  Her artistic curiosity extends to interdisciplinary collaborations — such as with choreographer Jinyeob Cha — and to commissioning new works by composers like Juri Seo and Andrew Rindfleisch.

In 2021, she published her first book, Shine Someday, which became a bestseller on Korea’s major literary platforms.  Jinjoo’s artistry is deeply shaped by her mentors Paul Kantor and Jaime Laredo at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she graduated.

Born in Tokyo in 1988, Japanese violinist  Ami Oike has been giving numerous concerts worldwide, including Japan, Korea, China, Switzerland, Serbia, and the United Kingdom. She is an Associate Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts (GEIDAI). She is a member of the Kioi Hall Chamber Orchestra, the Amity String Quartet and the Ensemble FOVE.

Ami concluded her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she obtained an International Artistic Diploma studying under Yair Kless. Prior to this, she enrolled at the Haute École de Musique and attended the Master’s Course for solo performance under the tutelage of Pierre Amoyal. At the Tokyo University of the Arts she studied with Kazuki Sawa, Gerard Poulet and Oleh Krysa. Her competition successes include 2nd Prize at the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition in 2013, 1st prize and Commission Prize at the RNCM Manchester International Violin Competition in 2011, 1st prize and Listener Prize at the 78th Japan Annual Music Competition is 2009 and 1st Prize at the Eto Toshiya Violin Competition in 2008.

“Listeners were transported into Ami Oike’s world from the very first note. Aided by impeccable technique, she presented the work with both solid pacing and grandness of scale. Her tone displayed sublime variety, characterized by a jade-like luster and generously romantic sentiment; meticulously crafted passages and sweetly sung melodies completed an interpretation of utter conviction. Above all,  Ami Oike’s comprehensive understanding of the work was manifested in her dynamic playing, resulting in a superlative performance with unmatched rapport between orchestra and soloist.” – review in Ongaku no tomo Magazine (2009) on the performance of Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 at the 78th Japan Annual Music Competition 2009.

Violinist Judith Ingolfsson is internationally recognized for her intense, commanding performances, uncompromising musical maturity, and charismatic performance style. She appears regularly as a concerto soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist, and she performs with pianist Vladimir Stoupel as part of the acclaimed Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel. The New York Times has characterized Ingolfsson’s playing as producing “both fireworks and a singing tone,” while Strings Magazine praised her tone as “gorgeous, intense, and variable, flawlessly pure and beautiful in every register.”

Judith Ingolfsson made her first appearances on the international music scene as a prizewinner of the celebrated International Violin Competition Premio Paganini in Genoa and the Concert Artist Guild Competition in New York City. Winning the Gold Medal of the 1998 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis provided her with the final breakthrough as an internationally sought-after artist. In 1999, National Public Radio’s Performance Today named her “Debut Artist of the Year” for her “remarkable intelligence, musicality, and sense of insight.”

Judith Ingolfsson has performed on concert stages across North and South America, Europe, and Asia, appearing with ensembles such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Tokyo. She toured North America with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra in 2000, with highlights at Carnegie Hall and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

A dedicated chamber musician, Ingolfsson has collaborated with the Avalon, Miami, and Vogler string quartets and performed as a member of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two. As part of Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel, she has been praised for her innovative programming and insightful interpretations, particularly of French music and lesser-known 20th-century works. Together, the Duo has released numerous acclaimed recordings, including Concert-Centenaire, a three-album exploration of French music from the Belle Époque through World War I, and Blues, Blanc, Rouge, featuring works by Ravel, Ferroud, and Poulenc.

Ingolfsson’s artistic versatility extends to the viola, which she performs regularly in chamber music and recital programs. Her repertoire highlights her commitment to the unaccompanied violin and viola literature, French music, and works by underrepresented composers. Notable solo recordings include the Ysaÿe Solo Sonatas and The Happiest Years, a pairing of solo sonatas by Artur Schnabel and Eduard Erdmann.

A devoted educator, Ingolfsson is Professor of Violin at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. She has held previous teaching appointments at leading institutions in Germany and the United States and regularly conducts masterclasses worldwide. Her students have won prestigious competitions, secured positions with elite orchestras, and been accepted into top-tier music programs.

Born in Reykjavík, Iceland, Ingolfsson began her violin studies at the age of three and made her public debut at five. She was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at 14 and later earned her Master’s Degree and Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She performs on a Lorenzo Guadagnini violin, crafted in 1750, and a viola by Yair Hod Fainas

John Zion serves as the President & CEO of MKI Artists where he oversees the careers of its prestigious roster of artists, ensembles, and composers. He is also a co-founder of OurConcerts.live, a streaming platform and technology company that produced more than 300 virtual concerts during the pandemic in collaboration with Spivey Hall, the University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, Washington Performing Arts, and many other presenting organizations. OurConcerts.live continues to provide access to live music for audiences around the world. Also an active consultant, John works with artists, administrators, and arts organizations on career development, project management, and digital marketing. John serves on the board of Chamber Music America and has taught and presented on arts-related issues at the Colburn School of Music, University of Michigan, Manhattan School of Music, Netherlands String Quartet Academy, Banff Centre, APAP|NYC, and Chamber Music America’s National Conference. In 2012, he was named one of the “Rising Stars in the Performing Arts” by Musical America. John studied at Lawrence University and the Hartt School of Music. Before coming to MKI Artists, he performed regularly as a violinist with orchestras throughout New England, taught public-school music, and toured Vietnam with his string quartet.