Making Menuhin

Watch "Making Menuhin: The Documentary" December 3 at 9 PM on VPM PBS.

Like many major events, last year’s Menuhin Competition was scuttled due to pandemic. However, over 40 top young violinists will now get a chance to compete in this year’s event virtually.

At one point, Kayleigh Kim put down the violin to focus on speed skating. She thought it might be her future. But a simple suggestion by her mom prompted her to start playing again and she fell in love with it. Now she’s studying at Juilliard and participating in the Menuhin Competition.

A musician, dancer and writer, 14-year-old Shannon Ma uses her violin and her pen to defy stereotypes about Asian musicians and recognize them for their passions and abilities.

After winning the Menuhin Competition Oslo 2010, Kerson Leong experienced a turning point. He was just 13, but the Ottawa native was about to embark on a journey that would take him to cities across the globe and position him as “Canada’s next great violinist.”

Growing up in South Dakota, Maya Anjali Buchanan loved the open space and mountains, and doing her share on the family farm. But learning violin in a rural area is challenging. In this debut episode of Making Menuhin, we trace Buchanan’s roots in Rapid City and her path to becoming a senior competitor in the Menuhin Competition.