SFCM student becomes youngest ever to win UK competition
Violinist Alexandra Santon ’23 had quite a busy summer. The SFCM junior, who studies with Cordula Merks, won several awards these past few months, including first prize in the Golden Classical International Music Competition in New York City after performing Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1. She will also be featured in a winners concert at Carnegie Hall this fall.
Santon scored the Gold Prize and Special Prize for Best Work from the 20th/21st Century in the London Young Musicians International Competition held in the United Kingdom. At 20, she became the youngest winner in this category in the competition’s history, all while playing against musicians five or more years her senior.
She also won second prize in the Kings Peak International Competition and third prize in the 2021 North International Music Competition based in Stockholm, Sweden.
The long-time violin player could not be more excited, "Everyone has been so nice and thank you to all of you for all of this," she told the SFCM Newsroom through email.