The final of the Maeve Broderick Prize for Strings 2026 took place in the Whyte Recital Hall on Wednesday, 25 March, celebrating the talent, creativity and individuality of RIAM’s string students while honouring one of the Academy’s most beloved and esteemed teachers, violinist Maeve Broderick. Competing in the final were Aoibhín Keogh Daly (cello), Julia Antolec (violin), David Mullooly (viola), Rohan Harron (violin), Hannah Greenstein (cello) and Yuxiao Wang (viola).
Cellist Aoibhín Keogh Daly was awarded first place for a striking and wide-ranging programme featuring Samuel Barber’s Adagio from Sonata for Cello and Piano in C minor, Op. 6, J.S. Bach’s Courante from Suite for Solo Cello No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012, David Popper’s Hungarian Rhapsody, and her own composition, Gorm.
Violist Yuxiao Wang took second place and also received the prize for Best Spoken Introduction, performing music by J.S. Bach, Rebecca Clarke and Henri Vieuxtemps.
Third place was awarded to violinist Rohan Harron for performances of Leilehua Lanzilotti’s ko'u inoa, Jessie Montgomery’s Rhapsody No. 1 and Aleksey Igudesman’s Tango Loco.
A number of individual prizes were also presented on the night:
- Best Spoken Introduction, Stage Presence and Audience Engagement: Yuxiao Wang
- Most Original or Creative Programming: Dean Glynn (guitar)
- Best Performance of a Piece by a Female or Underrepresented Composer: David Mullooly
- Best Performance of a Movement from a Solo Bach Work: Hannah Greenstein
- Chamber Collaboration: Julia Antolec
Our thanks to adjudicators Deborah Kelleher and David O’Doherty, and to the outstanding accompanists who supported the competition, Dearbhla Brosnan in the Preliminary and Final Rounds, David Adams in the Preliminary Round, and Ellen Jansson in the Preliminary Round.