The winner of this year’s Queen Sonja International Music Competition is tenor Seung Ju Bahg, a young talent from South Korea. Second prize went to tenor Giovanni Sebastiano Sala from Italy, and Third prize to Belarussian bass Alexander Roslavets. The Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship of NOK 75 000 was awarded to the best Norwegian participant, who this year was 25 year old Christian Valle from Trondheim.
Her Majesty Queen Sonja presented the prizes, including a diploma with original artwork created by Her Majesty
Seung Ju Bahg was born 1990 in Busan, South Korea. He is currently attending Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim. His interest in music began when he was a young boy and got to hear his father, who is a tenor as well, sing.
There has been a great deal of interest in the Queen Sonja International Music Competition from young singers around the world this year. There was a record number of 241 applicants from 49 countries, and of these 37 registered participants from 20 nations made it to Oslo.
