Congratulations to Junhyung Kang and Shirley Lu, winners of the John Pollard Competition for Young String Players 2026, and award €2,000 in prizes.
This year’s John Pollard Awards were presented to Junhyung Kang, violin, for his performance of Bach - Partita no. 2, 1st movement, Allemanda, BWV 1004 and Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto E Minor Op.64 - 1st Movement , and Shirley Lu, cello, for her performance of Bach - Sarabande, Alexander Arutiunian - Impromptu and Saint-Saëns - Cello Concerto No.1 in A Minor, Op.33, 1st Movement .
The John Pollard Competition for Young String Players supports the development of exceptional young musicians, and this year’s finalists brought remarkable artistry, commitment and technical accomplishment to the Whyte Recital Hall stage.
The jury, Deborah Kelleher, Seamus Doyle and Elaine Clark, had the difficult task of selecting the winners from a strong field of performers:
Sean Lee, double bass
Ruby Creighton-Kowalsky, violin
Ryan Keogh, cello
Andrei Trif, violin
Shirley Lu, cello
Junhyung Kang, violin
During jury deliberations, audiences also enjoyed performances from Ai Shen Sun, cello, and Sam Monedero, violin.
Junhyung Kang
Junhyung Kang (15) started learning the violin at the age of five and has studied ever since with Alan Smale, former leader of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Since 2024, he has also been receiving tuition from Mia Cooper, leader of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM).
A Music Scholar at Wesley College Dublin, Junhyung has enjoyed success in numerous competitions and has performed extensively as both a soloist and an ensemble musician. His performances include an appearance at the National Opera House, Wexford, where he played Bach’s Double Violin Concerto alongside his teacher Alan Smale at the Wexford Sinfonia’s 30th Anniversary Concert.
Most recently, Junhyung was awarded Overall String Competition Winner at the Castleknock Music Festival. Following this, he performed as a soloist in the first movement of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with the festival orchestra at the final concert.
Junhyung is a member of the RIAM Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. Recent highlights include a solo recital at the Korea Festival in Ireland in August 2025 and an invitation from the Korean Embassy to perform as a violin soloist at the National Day Celebration in October 2025.
Shirley Lu
Born in 2011, Shirley began her cello studies with Miriam Roycroft and later continued with Martin Johnson at RIAM. She was recently appointed Principal Cellist of the NYOI and gave a successful performance at the Helix in January. Shirley won the Feis Ceoil in both 2024 and 2025.
Shirley is deeply passionate about music and has attended several cello courses in the UK, including the Oxford Cello School and the Cello Gathering. She has taken part in numerous competitions in Ireland and the UK, achieving excellent results. In addition to music, she has a strong interest in mathematics and science, maintains outstanding academic performance, and enjoys playing hockey.