Pianist Louise Byrne wins the 2025 RIAM Junior Solo Competition with a fantastic performance of Saint-Saëns - Piano Concerto No. 2, Mvt. 1 and was accompanied by Réamonn Keary. The judges had the difficult decision of deciding between the 7 finalists, with varied instrumentation and repertoire.
Congratulations to Louise, and a huge thank you to Brian Farren of the Dublin Philharmonic Society for the sponsorship, all the participants and attendees who made it down to the Whyte Recital Hall and special thanks to Dearbhla Brosnan, Réamonn Keary, Éadaoin Copeland, Ai Lin Sun & Hugh Tinney.
The 2025 finalists included Christina Troup (french horn), Junhyung Kang, (violin), Ai Shen Sun (cello), Iris De Mot Diez (saxophone), Kian Lee (violin) and Karel Lievens (piano).
The jury consisted of Sarah Sew (Head of Chamber Music, RIAM), Brendan Breslin (Head of Junior, Adult & Lifelong Learning, RIAM) and Nigel Flegg (Head of Learning & Participation, National Concert Hall.
Louise Byrne is currently studying piano in the Royal Irish Academy of Music under Professor Réamonn Keary. Louise Byrne started playing piano when she was 5 years old. She is a prize winner in multiple national and international competitions. Louise got a special prize in the International Anton Rubinstein Competition Piano Junior Dusseldorf in Germany 2025 and placed 3rd in her category at the César Franck International Piano competition in Belgium 2023. Louise won the Junior Solo B and Rose Bowl Prize and in the Junior Concerto competition she placed with VHC, she also won Rhona Marshall Cup and Junior Solo C competitions in 2024. She is also a prize winner in EPTA Music Festival, Kilcoole Music Festival, Newpark Music Festival, RIAM Piano Fest and Arklow Music Festival.
In 2025 Louise also got accepted into the Young Artist programme in RIAM. She has also completed her RIAM Grade 8 exam with distinction and received both an assessment scholarship and an RIAM Spotlight award in 2024. Louise also attends TKD class, recently she just got her Red Belt.