University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance students outside of Ann Arbor's historic Hill Auditorium. The first $100,000 grand prize winner of the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition will be awarded at Hill Auditorium on May 20, 2016. Left to Right: Andrew Peck, Nicole Patrick, Max Karmazyn, Stephen Grady, Heather Kendrick, Anna Gilpatrick, Anita Graef, Bret Patterson, Anna Thompson, Belinda Rosen, Annie Jeng, Christine Stinchi, Catherine Miller.
Dean Aaron Dworkin with University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance students showcasing the variety of musicianship included in the Strings, Winds, and Open Divisions of the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition. Left to Right: Andrew Peck, Nicole Patrick, Heather Kendrick, Anna Thompson, Dean Aaron Dworkin, Belinda Rosen, Max Karmazyn, Stephen Grady, Catherine Miller.
The Evita Quartet is the graduate string quartet in residence at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Hyorim Han & Haerim Liz Lee (violins), Yi-Chun Lin (viola), Soojung Kim (cello).
All photos by Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_YwrFB_UgY&feature=youtu.be
University of Michigan
School of Music, Theatre & Dance
ANN
ARBOR—In a bid to identify and showcase the highest caliber of chamber
music ensembles in the world, the University of Michigan has announced
M-Prize, a new international competition that will present a grand prize
of $100,000—the largest award of any competition of its kind.
M-Prize
will be based at U-M's School of Music, Theatre & Dance and will
take place annually each May, beginning in 2016. Applications are now
being accepted online at mprize.umich.edu,
with a deadline of March 1, 2016. The competition will include two age
divisions: Junior (ages 18 and under) and Senior (average age 19-35).
The
competition, sponsored by Office of the Provost, will be open to
ensembles of between three and eight members and will include categories
for strings and winds as well as an "open" category for ensembles that
can include mixed instrumentation, technology, voice and improvisation. During
its inaugural year, M-Prize will focus on chamber music, but in ensuing
years it plans to expand to include the full spectrum of chamber arts.
The
M-Prize grand prize winner will be selected from one of three Senior
Division Ensemble Finalists during a gala concert May 20 at U-M's Hill
Auditorium. The concert will be broadcast on Detroit Public Television
and made available to PBS stations throughout the country.
In
addition to the cash prize, the grand prize-winning ensemble also will
be presented by University Musical Society of Ann Arbor on their chamber
music concert series the following season. UMS, which recently received
the National Medal of Arts, presents many of the world’s leading
performing artists in classical music, jazz, world music, theater and
dance.
Aaron
Dworkin, who became dean of SMTD in July, is the driving force behind
the competition. The founder of the Sphinx Organization, the nation's
leading nonprofit for increasing diversity in the classical music world,
Dworkin's goal for M-Prize is to focus needed attention on chamber
music. It is an art form that he believes will provide the most vibrant
career paths for ensembles comprising conservatory-trained musicians and
other performing artists.
"The
vast possibilities inherent in chamber music empower it with the unique
ability to serve as a catalyst for interdisciplinary exploration and,
ultimately, transformational artistic experiences," Dworkin
said. "This has the eventual result of increasing the relevance of the
chamber music field to society, and what better place to convene the
established and emerging leaders in chamber music than the University of
Michigan? As we prepare our students to excel, we are also looking to
evolve the artistic landscape for performing artists."
Among
the first actions that Dworkin implemented as dean at SMTD was to
create a Department of Chamber Music, along with a new program in
entrepreneurship training and career services. He sees the two areas as
inherently intertwined and views the M-Prize as a way to further the
value of both.
"M-Prize
will showcase how artists at the top of their field are forging their
own careers, a necessity in the modern age of performing arts," he said.
"At the same time, it will encourage young artists to explore the
limitless possibilities of the genre."
The stated goals of the M-Prize competition are:
- To provide a world-class performance and adjudication platform for chamber arts.
- To launch and advance the careers of chamber ensembles through prizes, visibility and professional development opportunities.
- To evolve the breadth and depth of the chamber arts landscape and associated professional opportunities for exceptional ensembles.
M-Prize adjudicators include top pedagogues and performers in chamber music. The
15-member international jury includes violinist Rachel Barton Pine,
saxophonist Timothy McAllister and jazz drummer/composer John
Hollenbeck.
The
M-Prize advisory board includes a large cross-section of performers and
artists along with higher education administrators and professors. The
roster features chamber music icons, such as cellist David Finckel and
pianist Wu Han, the Kronos Quartet, violinist Ida Kavafian, pianist
Joseph Kalichstein, saxophonist Donald Sinta and jazz pianist Geri
Allen.
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