US cellist Miriam K. Smith has won the 2026 Pierre Fournier Award, securing a prize package that includes a recital at Wigmore Hall and a professional recording. Smith performed alongside pianist Archie Bonham during the live rounds held on October 15-16 in London, UK, triumphing over a field of twelve cellists.
Established in 1988, the Pierre Fournier Award has served as a springboard for young cellists, offering performance exposure and the chance to make a professional recording. This year’s competition included twelve musicians who performed before a panel of judges.
The jury was chaired by Raphael Wallfisch and included Jo Cole, Matthew Huber, Guy Johnston, Alice Neary, Melissa Phelps, Hannah Roberts, Alexander Van Ingen, Tom Woods, and PFA founder Ralph Kirshbaum. Alongside Smith’s victory, German cellist Alexander Wollheim earned a Highly Commended award, while Canadian–Korean cellist Olivia Yelim Cho, Japanese cellist Keisuke Morita, Italian cellist Francesco Tamburini, and German cellist Simon Tetzlaff rounded out the list of prizewinners.
Prizes and Prestigious Engagements
As part of her prize package, Smith will receive a recital at London’s Wigmore Hall, a professional recording on the Champs Hill label, and concert engagements with Oxford May Music and Manchester Midday Concerts, alongside a UK concerto engagement.
Applications close soon for the Pierre Fournier Award, with live auditions held at the Wigmore Hall.For more information, visit our website https://t.co/s80OJiXien pic.twitter.com/XLjh6Oxonc
Based in Cincinnati, OH, Smith studies with Alan Rafferty. Her performance resume includes appearances as a concert soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra.
An Impressive Background of Honors
Smith’s victory in London builds upon a list of accolades. She received the MacDowell Society Artist Grant in 2023 and was a YoungArts winner in 2024, alongside first-place finishes in the American Protégé International and American Fine Arts Festival competitions.
Smith reached the semi-finals of the 2024 Naumburg Cello Competition and finished as a finalist in the 2026 Khachaturian Cello Competition in Armenia. To date, she has released three albums on the Azica Records and MSR Classics labels.
