Wilhelm Magner

The first violist in 111 years of the competition to be awarded the Prix d'Europe in 2022, Wilhelm's solo engagements in 2023-2024 include recitals and chamber music concerts in Canada, the United States and Poland. He was recently named Assistant Professor of Viola at UT Austin’s Butler School of Music. Wilhelm is interested in expanding the viola repertoire and has transcribed many works by composers such as Bach, Lutoslawski, Paganini and Waxman for the viola. In addition to performing, he has given master classes in the USA and Canada.

He holds a master's degree in viola performance from Yale University in the class of Prof. Ettore Causa. Previously, he studied with Prof. André Roy at McGill University. He has also participated in master classes with artists such as Ana Chumachenco, Yura Lee, Grigory Kalinovsky, Ian Svensen, and Yehonatan Berick. He was named to CBC Music's "30 under 30" list in 2022.

A winner of numerous competitions, including the Canadian Music Competition (ex-aequo First Prize) and the OSJS Concerto Competition, he has participated in many summer festivals, including the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Kneisel Hall, the Young Artists Program of the National Arts Center, and the Orford Music Academy. As a teenager, Wilhelm studied for 7 years with Natalia Kononova, concertmaster of the Drummondville Symphony Orchestra. In his spare time, Wilhelm enjoys playing chess and listening to music.

He is a recipient of the Sylva Gelber Foundation award. He plays a Ryan Soltis, Nelson, 2023 viola and an Ouchard bow generously loaned by CANIMEX INC. of Drummondville (Quebec), Canada.