Lyam Chenaux
CELLO
2nd Prize

Lyam Chenaux was born in Switzerland in 2009, and from an early age chose to play the cello. He quickly showed exceptional musical qualities, and by the age of 8, he had won his first regional and national competitions. Between the ages of 9 and 13, he played with the Ministrings du Conservatoire de Lausanne (directed by T. Strinning and B. Batt), developing his skills in stage expression, improvisation and jazz, and performing in many countries.
At the age of 10, Lyam performed for the first time as a soloist at the Somak Academy in Biel, with the Budweis Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Svec. On this occasion, he met Denis Severin, who currently teaches him at the HEM in Geneva Neuchâtel as an auditor. Given his young age, this was the only way he could keep up with his teacher. Passionate and charismatic, he won 4 first prizes with honors at the Concours Suisse des Jeunesses Musicales (SJMW) in solo, composition, early music and chamber music. From 2021 onwards, he wins dozens of first prizes and special prizes in international online competitions. In 2023, he won the final of the Classicalia competition in Vienna (age category 12-17, all instruments), and the same year, he won a first prize and a special prize at the Popper International Competition in Hungary. In 2022, Lyam joined the virtuoso LGT Young Soloists ensemble and made his debut on major international stages (Vienna, Paris, Singapore, Dubai, Tromso). He was selected as an active member of the Rutesheim Cello Akademie and played in the final student concert under Alexander Mayer with the Pforzeim Kammerorchester in 2023. In summer 2023, Lyam is soloist with L'Orchestre national des Jeunesses Musicales Suisses (ONJMS) and performs for 4 concerts in Switzerland. Lyam has attended masterclasses with great cello masters such as Sebastian Klinger, Wen-Sinn Yang, Asier Polo, Thomas Demega, Ophélie Gaillard, Anne Gastinel, Lionel Cottet, Susan Rybicki, Stephan Braun, Xavier Phillips and Florian Favre for jazz. Passionate about music, Lyam also plays the oboe, enjoys composing and is particularly fond of jazz, Celtic music and world music in general.

As well as music, Lyam loves cycling, chess, Formula 1 and political science.