Romanian Ioana Cristina Goicea has won the 2017 Michael Hill International Violin Competition.

Announced at the competition’s grand finale at the Auckland Town Hall on Saturday, June 10, the three finalists, American Luke Hsu, Goicea and New Zealander Benjamin Baker, each performed a concerto with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Giordano Bellincampi.

Luke Hsu also won the Chamber Music Prize for his poised and colourful performance of Mozart’s String Quintet.

Also awarded was the Michael Hill Audience Award, which went to Sumina Studer from Switzerland.

Olga Šroubková (Czech Republic) won the prize for the Best Performance of an NZ Commissioned Work, awarded in Queenstown at the end of an earlier heat.