Colburn School contender finishes fourth at Tchaikovsky Competition

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Nigel Armstrong, a recent Colburn School graduate, finished fourth Friday in the violin category of the quadrennial Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia -- a category that had no winner.

As has happened on occasion in the past, judges declined to award a gold medal for first prize, instead choosing two silver medalists, Sergey Dogadin of Russia and Itamar Zorman of Israel. South Korean’s Jehye Lee, the lone female violin finalist, came in third, and American Eric Silberger finished fifth.

Armstrong’s 5,000 euro prize is worth about $7,300.

The 21-year-old from Sonoma smiled and bowed after accepting a bouquet and a plaque during the ceremonies webcast from Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. The violin field was winnowed over two weeks of competition in St. Petersburg from 24 contenders to the final five.

Narek Hakhnazaryan of Armenia won the gold medal for cello, and piano honors went to Daniil Trifonov of Russia.

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Richard D. Colburn, 92; major benefactor of the musical arts in L.A.

-- Mike Boehm