Poland’s representative, Michał Stochel, won the Classical Eurovision for Young Musicians 2026, while Armenia’s participant, Elen Virabyan, finished in third place. The competition was hosted in Yerevan on June 6, the birthday of Aram Khachaturian, at the Alexander Spendiaryan National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet.

Stochel performed Mikołaj Majkusiak’s Classical Concerto for Accordion. Second place went to Latvia’s representative, Sonja Misinina, who performed Emmanuel Séjourné’s Concerto for Marimba and Strings, Armenpress reported.

Armenia’s representative, 15-year-old flutist Elen Virabyan, placed third. She performed Violin Concerto by Aram Khachaturian.

The competition featured violinists, pianists, a clarinetist, an accordionist, a flutist, and marimba players from Armenia, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Representatives of all participating countries performed accompanied by the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert was conducted by the orchestra’s artistic director and chief conductor, Eduard Topchjan. The evening was hosted by Hrachuhi Utmazyan and Hamlet Arakelyan.

The winner was selected by a jury vote. The international jury included German conductor Julien Salemkour, Spanish flutist Eduard Velmar, London Symphony Orchestra conductor Roman Simovic, and Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan.

Armenia first participated in the Classical Eurovision for Young Musicians competition in 2012, represented by qanun player Narek Kazazyan. The country’s next participation came 12 years later, in 2024, when oboist Hayk Hekekyan represented Armenia.

Classical Eurovision 2026 was built around some of the finest examples of Armenian visual art and classical music. The competition’s slogan was: “Armenia: a place where classical music unites.” Through this message, Armenia presented itself as a platform for culture, art, and classical music to come together.