08 Jun 2026 EMVB Winners Announced
Congratulations to winners of the 2026 American Viola Society Exhibition of Modern Violas and Bows, held June 3-6, 2026 at the 2026 AVS Festival on the beautiful James Madison University campus. Violas and bows were on exhibit from June 3-6, and on Saturday, June 6 a blind tone competition was held, with all violas played by Daniel Foster, Principal Violist of the National Symphony Orchestra. Winners were selected by the audience through online voting. The winners are:
Tone Competition:
First Prize: Marilyn Wallin (Lincoln, NE)
Second Prize: Stanley Kiernoziak (Chicago, IL)
Third Prize: Jonathan Vacanti (Charlottesville, VA)
Violas-Playability:
First Prize: Howard Needham (Silver Spring, MD)
Second Prize: Stanley Kiernoziak (Chicago, IL)
Third Prize: Mietek Rusnak (Chicago, IL)
Bows – Playability:
First Prize: Eric Lane (Brookline, MA)
Second Prize: Cameron Robertson (Atlanta, GA)
We are pleased to hold our next AVS Exhibition of Modern Violas and Bows in June 2028 at the 2028 AVS Festival in Chicago and Northern Illinois University. Please plan to join us for this exciting event!