((L-R) Claire Wells and Pualina Lim | Photos courtesy of Chamber Music Northwest)
For its 2026/27 Year-Round Season, Chamber Music Northwest will present a two-concert recital series featuring recent Protégé Project alumni who have gone on to establish international careers. The Sunday afternoon performances will take place in the intimate Irving Levin Performance Hall at All Classical Radio.
The Protégé Recital Series will open with violinist Claire Wells who will perform an eclectic and challenging program with pianist Paulina Lim at 4pm on Sunday, October 4, 2026.
Artistic Directors Gloria Chien and Soovin Kim stated: “We are excited to kick off the CMNW Year-Round Season with our new Protégé Recital Series, presenting violinist Claire Wells in the fall and pianist Zitong Wang in the spring. Claire is one of those rare artists who possesses something magnetic, fearless, and deeply musical. We have known Claire since she was nine years old and were so excited to invite her to join us as a Protégé Artist in 2024. It has been incredibly special to watch her unfold as an artist, including this past summer in Portland, where she performed in seven different programs. We are thrilled to welcome her back for this intimate evening with pianist Pualina Lim at the beautiful Irving Levin Performance Hall at All Classical Radio. Come celebrate these extraordinary young musicians who were once Protégés and are now captivating international artists entirely their own!”
Protégé Recital Series: Claire Wells
Violin + Piano
Sunday, October 4, 4pm
Irving Levin Performance Hall, All Classical Radio
With roots in Eugene and international recognition for her musical voice, vivid imagination, and dynamic presentations, violinist Claire Wells has expanded her performance footprint throughout Europe. Since she was a Protégé Artist just two years ago, Claire won the Susan Wadsworth Young Concert Artists International Auditions and Young Concert Artist Jacobs Fellowship and has performed dozens of festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Many have witnessed her exuberant finesse on CMNW stages, both as a Protégé in 2024 and at last summer’s festival. Claire will perform alongside three-time YAI Piano Fellow Pualina Lim in this special recital of Debussy, Prokofiev, Brahms, and Bartók, sure to entertain and melt hearts.
Recital Program
CLAUDE DEBUSSY Violin Sonata, CD 148
SERGEI PROKOFIEV 5 Mélodies, Op. 35bis
BRAHMS Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100
BARTÓK Violin Rhapsody No. 2, Sz. 90
About the Musicians
Claire Wells, violin: American violinist Claire Wells is acclaimed by audiences and press for her expressive musicality and rich, singing quality of sound. Claire has won numerous major prizes in renowned international competitions such as the Sibelius, Michael Hill, and Indianapolis competitions, and has collaborated with orchestras such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and others. Solo concert engagements have brought her to halls like the Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, the Meyerson Symphony Center, Bass Performance Hall, and Teatro Degollado.
Having always held a special place in her heart for chamber music, Claire has been invited to perform at several international festivals such as Chamber Music Northwest, Chamber Music Connects the World, the Gstaad Festival, Krzyzowa Festival, and the Verbier Festival. Claire has the pleasure of frequently collaborating with some of the world’s top young musicians, as well as sharing the stage with world-renowned musicians such as Noah Bendix-Balgley, Christian Tetzlaff, Lars Anders Tomter, and Enrico Pace, amongst others.
Since 2022, Claire Wells has studied with Mihaela Martin at the Kronberg Academy, made possible by the Opel/Dr. Schaefer patronage. Claire plays on a Nicolo Amati and a Grand Adam bow, on loan from a generous donor.
Pualina Lim, piano: Singaporean pianist Pualina Lim Mei En is a passionate collaborative musician who has performed extensively across the United States and internationally, including in Singapore, Canada, Indonesia, and Japan. She has been featured on Oregon’s All Classical Radio and at festivals such as the Manchester Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Musical Chairs Chamber Music Festival. Pualina has spent three summers with Chamber Music Northwest’s Young Artist Institute as a Piano Fellow.
An accomplished collaborative pianist, Pualina has collaborated with distinguished artists including Soovin Kim in Jordan Hall’s First Monday concert series, Claire Wells at Oregon Bach Festival, Emerson String Quartet violinist Philip Setzer, and baritone Randall Scarlata. She is the pianist of The Lina Duo, a violin-piano duo with Célina Bethoux. In 2022, Pualina appeared as concerto soloist with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in a concert attended by the President of Singapore. She has also performed with the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra as concerto competition winner, and in the same year was awarded the Best Accompanist prize.
Deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians, Pualina serves as staff pianist at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School and actively supports young artists in concerto competitions throughout the Greater Boston area. She is also dedicated to community engagement, sharing violin-piano and piano four-hands music in community spaces and senior homes.
Pualina received her Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, and Master of Music in collaborative piano from the New England Conservatory, where she studied with Pei-Shan Lee and Cameron Stowe. She was awarded the Gunther Schuller Medal in recognition of her extraordinary contributions and was a repeated recipient of the Francis W. Hatch, Sr. Presidential Scholarship. She was also generously supported by Singapore’s Trailblazer Foundation. Pualina completed undergraduate studies in Piano Performance at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, where she received the National University of Singapore Society Medal for Outstanding Achievement.
cmnw.org/concerts-events/2026-27-season/protege-recital-series-claire-wells/2598