The 1st Annual Ruthmere Solo Strings Competition Finals took place on Saturday, April 4, 2026 in the Ruthmere Game Room.

FINALISTS:

• Kenny Bechtel, Cedarville U., Fairborn, OH
• Desheng Huang, Notre Dame U., Notre Dame, IN
• Mailyn Iribar Corpas, Andrews U., Berrien Springs, MI
• Tyler Jacobs, St. Joseph High School, St. Joseph, MI
• Xiaoyin Zhang, U. of Oregon, Eugene, OR

The WINNER of the 2026 Ruthmere Solo Strings Competition:

Mailyn Iribar 

Born and raised in Havana, Cuba, violinist Mailyn Iribar is the recipient of the Nerenberg Award 1st prize and Farwell Trust Award in the Senior Instrumental Division of the Musicians Club of Women Competition in Chicago. She is also a two-time winner of the Andrews University Young Artist Competition (2022, 2024) and the 2023 Southern Adventist University Solo Competition. Iribar graduated with honors from the Guillermo Tomás Conservatory and earned admission to Cuba’s “Instituto Superior de Arte” after securing first place in the “National Violin Auditions.” Mailyn studied at Meadowmount School of Music with Paul Kantor and Janet Sung in the summer of 2024 and 2025 and participated in the New York String Orchestra Seminar under the direction of maestro Jaime Laredo. Passionate about education and community engagement, she teaches violin and viola through the Andrews University Community Music School and the Berrien Springs Public Schools Partnership. A recipient of the “Promising Artist Scholarship,” Iribar is pursuing her Bachelor of Music in Performance at Andrews University under the guidance of Carla Trynchuk.

2nd Place Winners:

Tyler Jacobs & Zhang Xiaoyin

The 2026 Robert B. Beardsley Memorial Piano Prize Competition took place on Saturday, September 26 in the Ruthmere Game Room.

FINALISTS:

Hyerim Cho (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

Seonghun Jeong (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

"Esther" Huijae Lee (Indiana University, Bloomington)

Spencer McKee (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN)

Pun Punyasavatsut (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

Jingbo Zong (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

The WINNER of the 2026 Robert B. Beardsley Memorial Piano Prize Competition:

Jingbo Zong

Jingbo Zong is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Piano Performance and Master of Music in Fortepiano Performance at the University of Michigan, studying with Prof. Arthur Greene and Prof. Matthew Bengtson. He previously earned two Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance and Chamber Music (Piano) from the University of Michigan. He has received full scholarships throughout his master’s and doctoral studies and currently serves as a Graduate Student Instructor. As the First Prize winner of the German Youth Piano Star International Piano Competition and the First Prize (Grand Special Prize) winner of the 14th Shanghai International Youth Piano Competition, among other international competition prizes, he has performed in North America, Europe, and Asia. His new collaborative album Velvet Echoes was released in 2025.

2nd & 3rd Place Winners:

Hyerim Cho & Spencer McKee

Sponsor for the 2026 Robert Beardsley Piano Prize Competition

Doug Beardsley

Past Beardsley Competition Winners

2017 - Nicholas Roth

2018 - Nicholas Susi

2019 - Yixiang Hou

2020 - Hyeseon Jin

2021 - Daniel Lin

2022 - Chi Hoi "Jimmy" Cheung

2023 - Pablo Valladares

2024 - Nayeon Kim

2025 - Sean Yang

2026 - Jingbo Zong

About the Beardsley Cup

The Beardsley Cup, composed of sterling silver and manufactured in 1907 in London, resides in a new custom built display case with the names of the winners of the Beardsley Competition. The inaugural recipient in 2017, Nicholas Roth, was named in recognition of his long devotion to Ruthmere and its Fall Concert Series. Subsequent competition winners’ names are added annually to the display, enhancing the lore of piano performances at Ruthmere. Please contact Ruthmere Museum at (574) 264-0330 ext. 107 if you have any questions regarding the competition or the entry requirements.