Poland’s Michał Stochel won Eurovision Young Musicians 2026 on Saturday, taking first place in the competition with an accordion performance.
Latvia’s Sonja Misiņa placed second with one of the contests first marimba performance. Armenia’s Elen Virabyan placed third with flute, giving the host country a podium finish.
The competition was held at the Yerevan Opera Theatre. It was the 22nd edition of Eurovision Young Musicians and the first time Armenia hosted the event.
Stochel performed the third movement of “Concerto Classico” by Mikołaj Majkusiak. Misiņa performed the second movement of “Concerto for Marimba and Strings, Op. 12” by Emmanuel Séjourné. Virabyan performed a flute arrangement of Aram Khachaturian’s violin concerto.
Musicians from 11 countries competed. The contestants performed with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Eduard Topchjan.
A jury selected the top three and the winner. The contest said musicians were judged on technical accuracy, tone and sound quality, musicality, interpretation, performance and communication.
The win is Poland’s fourth in Eurovision Young Musicians. Poland also won in 1992, 2000 and 2016.
Stochel is the first accordionist to win the competition. His prize includes a trophy and an invitation to perform with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2026-27 concert season.
The next edition of Eurovision Young Musicians is set to be held in Liepāja, Latvia, in 2027. The contest is to be held at the Great Amber Concert Hall.
