Colburn School Student Down to Final Eight at Prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition

Colburn School Conservatory student Nigel Armstrong arrived in Russia this week to compete at the prestigious XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition. Armstrong recently came to international attention with his silver-medal wins in the 2010 Menuhin Competition's Senior Division and the First International Violin Competition of Buenos Aires. Armstrong, 21 years-old, currently studies at The Colburn School under the esteemed Robert Lipsett.

Twenty seven violinists from around the world will compete in the finals of this year's International Tchaikovsky Competition, held once every four years, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Previous Tchaikovsky winners who have gone on to achieve international acclaim include: Van Cliburn, Viktor Tretiakov, Gidon Kremer, Vladimir Spivakov and Viktoria Mullova.

For the past four years, Armstrong has studied at the Conservatory of Music at The Colburn School, which is a world class performing arts school located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The Colburn School's acclaimed faculty provides students with the highest quality performing arts education with a multitude of performance opportunities in a state-of-the-art facility. Every student accepted into the conservatory receives free tuition, room and board, which allows students to focus exclusively on their musicianship. Recently, Nigel's peers had a double success at the 2011 Fischoff Competition. The Calidore Quartet triumphed, winning the competition's grand prize and the gold medal in the senior string division, while the Persinger Quartet won the bronze medal in the senior string division. Additionally, sixteen year-old Academy student Mayumi Kanagawa, a fellow student of Robert Lipsett, won the 26th annual Irving M. Klein International String Competition earlier this month.

Photo Credit: Philip Pirolo for The Colburn School