Laurel Gagnon, an alum of Park ICM’s violin studio under Professor Ben Sayevich has made the quarter finals of the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition. The 20 Quarter-Finalists range in ages 18-28 and represent 13 countries—Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Finals will be streamed live, 7:30pm on January 28 and 3pm on January 29, will be streamed live on the competition’s YouTube Channel and Facebook page.

About the Competition

The Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (EOIVC), a flagship program of the Elevar Foundation, was established by celebrated violinist, Elmar Oliveira, in collaboration with the Lynn University Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida in 2016. The EOIVC is deeply committed to its mission of providing talented violinists, ages 16-32, who are at the start of their careers, with networking, management, public relations, community engagement and concert opportunities in addition to a monetary prize. The EOIVC takes place once every three years.

LAUREL GAGNON

Violinist Laurel Gagnon’s interpretations “sing with a naturalness that [is] both disarming and distinctive” (The Straits Times). Performing as a soloist and chamber musician, she has been heralded for her “nimble command, centered double stops and graceful, springy portamento” (Kansas City Star).

Ms. Gagnon was awarded fourth prize at the 2018 Singapore International Violin Competition, and in 2019, was invited to perform in the live rounds of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. As a soloist, she has performed at Flagey in Brussels, Singapore’s Victoria Concert Hall, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Gagnon has performed several times on Kansas Public Radio, been featured on Kansas Community Radio,and appeared in performance on KSHB TV’s “KC Live” show and Fox4. As a chamber musician, Gagnon has collaborated with Shmuel Ashkenasi and performed in faculty-student chamber recitals.

Ms. Gagnon earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance and her Masters of Music at The International Center for Music at Park University, studying with Ben Sayevich. She is now an Artist Diploma student with Mauricio Fuks at the Jacobs School of Music.