Iohan Coman is a Romanian violinist born in Paris where he began his musical journey, having his first violin lessons at the Conservatoire Rachmaninoff. Iohan then met with both the Romanian and Russian schools of violin playing, studying in Chisinau, Moldova and Romania. Those years were crucial to his development and improving his technique.

Throughout his time in Romania, Iohan won several national and international competitions and has performed many concerts as a soloist since the age of 8. Iohan moved to London in 2018 and began to learn more about professional music-making in chamber, orchestral and solo settings.

Iohan is currently in his 4th year at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with So-Ock Kim. During his studies, Iohan has had masterclasses with musicians including Hilary Hahn, Anthony Marwood, Luke Hsu, and has had the privilege to play in orchestras conducted by Trevor Pinnock, Simon Rattle, Semyon Bychkov and John Wilson.

I am truly grateful to receive this year’s RPS Emily Anderson Prize. I look forward to developing my career as a professional musician, and this award is giving me a chance to pursue my dreams. Part of the financial help will go towards lessons and instrument maintenance, which is always something to look after, as well as costs such as sheet music, so a part of the prize will contribute towards that. I am also planning to organise concerts where I can involve more people in creating special moments together. Another way the prize will contribute to my development is by helping me to pay my pianist colleagues for their time, allowing us to make good recordings of various repertoire. I want to thank RPS and those involved again for this opportunity.

To find out more about Iohan, take a look at his social media:

• Instagram