Singapore, 20 September 2025 — Eleven-year-old Singaporean violinist Cathy Chen Xi has won first prize in the under-12 category at the prestigious Hengqin International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians, topping a field of 27 contestants from around the world. She delivered her final performance on 18 September, playing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with the Salzburg Chamber Soloists in Zhuhai.
Cathy is a student at Tao Nan School and has been under the tutelage of Ye Lin at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts School of Young Talents since January 2020. In the lead-up to the final, she reportedly increased her practice sessions—sometimes with lessons twice a day—with Ms Ye in the two weeks before the performance.
Speaking after the announcement, Cathy said she was both “too excited” and “in disbelief.” She admitted she had set her sights initially on placing second, but that she never expected to win first. When the moment came, all her performance anxiety vanished as she concentrated on putting her heart into the music.
Her teacher, Ms Ye, praised Cathy as having exceptional learning speed, sensitivity, and a natural joy for music, noting that the combination of passion and discipline often showed up in her ability to convey emotion—not just technical precision.
This competition—formerly known as the Zhuhai International Mozart Competition—is now in its sixth edition. Singapore-born violinist Chloe Chua, now 18, placed third in the same under-12 category back in 2017 and later achieved joint first prize in the Junior section of the Menuhin Competition. Cathy’s win is being viewed as part of the strong recent showing by young Singaporean musicians in international violin competitions.
