(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- The prestigious Philadelphia International Music Festival awarded over $20,000 in scholarships and performance opportunities to ten young musicians who took the top spots in PIMF's semi-annual Online Concerto Competition. The event attracted over 200 submissions from 11 countries.

Ivy Yin, 9, a student at Oak Street Elementary School, was awarded Second Prize and a scholarship valued at $750 to PIMF’s intensive classical music training program featuring members of The Philadelphia Orchestra for her performance of the First Movement - Allegro molto appassionato - of Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, a Romantic era masterpiece that has become a cornerstone of the orchestral repertoire.

Ivy chose the piece after hearing Joshua Bell play it and especially enjoys “the excitement in the fast part and how graceful the slow part is.”

The 4th grader has been playing violin since age 5 and just started learning to play the saxophone this school year. Music is a “major part” of Ivy's life, but for now she says her goals are to keep improving her technique and “to enjoy music, watching classic music concerts in person or on YouTube.”

Musicians in four age groups from 6 to 19 years of age submitted videos for PIMF’s  competition from all over the world.

Adjudicators include Marc Rovetti, Assistant Concertmaster, The Philadelphia Orchestra; John Koen, Cello, The Philadelphia Orchestra; and Yuxi Wang, director of Keyboard Studies at The Curtis Institute.

Young musicians interested in working with principal players and other members of the world-famous Philadelphia Orchestra can find a summer music home at The Philadelphia International Music Camp and Festival this year.

The Philadelphia International Music Festival (PIMF) is a resident summer music program directed by Kimberly Fisher, Principal Second Violin of The Philadelphia Orchestra, offering student musicians from around the world the unique opportunity of spending up to four weeks immersed in music education and performance training with members of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra.

PIMF offers summer camp programs both online AND live on Philadelphia’s prestigious Main Line. Since March 2020, PIMF’s online platform has expanded its training programs year-round with Master Classes taught by principal players and other members of The Philadelphia Orchestra.