On
March 16, 2016, Sphinx will honor three outstanding artists of color
who demonstrate the following qualities: artistic excellence,
outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination, and great potential
for leadership.
Julia Bullock, Gabriel Cabezas
and Lara Downes
These three artists are the recipients of the 5th annual Sphinx Medals of Excellence.
The awards will be bestowed at the official Sphinx Medals of Excellence
luncheon and honorees will be celebrated at a black-tie private dinner
in Washington, D.C. The three Medalists will also each receive a $50,000 artist grant for their career development.
"We
are honored to celebrate these exceptional musicians. Individually and
collectively, they exhibit authenticity, commitment and true artistic
leadership, which is so essential to Sphinx's mission and our field, as a
whole." said Sphinx President, Afa S. Dworkin.
Julia Bullock
Equally
at home with opera and concert repertoire, appears as soloist with the
New World Symphony and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and in recitals at
Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Kennedy Center.
In November, she sings the lead role in the Berlin Philharmonic's
Orchestra Academy performance of "La passion de Simone," directed by
Peter Sellars, which she will reprise at the Ojai Festival in June 2016.
Ms.
Bullock performed the title role in Henry Purcell's "The Indian Queen"
at the Perm Opera House, The Bolshoi, Teatro Real, and the English
National Opera. Other title roles include Massenet's "Cendrillon" and
Janaček's "The Cunning Little
Vixen," presented by the Juilliard School. This past summer, she made
her debut with the New York Philharmonic and Alan Gilbert, and in 2013,
she made her San Francisco Symphony debut in West Side Story, with
Michael Tilson Thomas; the concert's album was nominated for a Grammy.
Julia
Bullock won the 2014 Naumburg International Vocal Competition and the
2012 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and is recipient of a
2015 Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the 2015 Richard F. Gold Grant
from the Shoshana Foundation, and Lincoln Center's 2015 Martin E. Segal
Award. She recently earned her Artist Diploma from The Juilliard
School.
Gabriel Cabezas
An
intense player who connects to music naturally, without artifice, and
brings a singing line to the cello" (The Oregonian), Gabriel Cabezas is
one of America's most sought after young musicians. Combining a superb
technique, intellectual curiosity and a pioneering musical spirit,
Cabezas is at home in front of an orchestra, performing with a
singer-songwriter or sharing the stage with a dance troupe.
Cabezas
has appeared as soloist with America's finest orchestras, including
those of Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Los Angeles,
Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh and Nashville. He is also a member of the
New York sextet yMusic, hailed by NPR's Fred Child as "one of the groups
that has really helped to shape the future of classical music.".
Cabezas studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Carter Brey, and
is a recipient of the Career Grant by the Rachel Elizabeth Barton
Foundation. He is a winner of the 2014 Astral Artists National
Auditions.
A
committed advocate for community engagement and education programs
across the country, he is involved with Midori's Partners in
Performance, the Sphinx Organization and Chicago's Citizen Musician
movement. Cabezas was the first place Laureate at the Sphinx competition
twice - in the Junior Division (2006); and in the Senior Division
(2012).
Lara Downes
Lara Downes is recognized as one of the most imaginative pianists on today's concert scene, called "a delightful artist with a unique blend of musicianship and showmanship" by NPR.
Downes'
musical outlook reflects the diversity of her personal heritage and her
transatlantic upbringing, and her performances engage a wide range of
audiences with repertoire from Bach to Billie Holiday, presented with a
style that the Huffington Post calls "addicting - with an open, honest heart." She
has appeared on stages from Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Vienna
Konzerthaus to Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and her
chart-topping solo recordings have been praised as "ravishing" by Fanfare Magazine, and "luscious, moody and dreamy" by the New York Times. Her
creative projects have received support from the National Endowment for
the Arts, the Barlow Endowment, Center for Cultural Innovation and
American Public Media. She is the producer and host of The Green Room, a radio program about the lives of classical musicians, distributed nationally by the WFMT Radio Network.
Downes
serves as Artist in Residence at the Mondavi Center for the Performing
Arts, UC Davis, where she mentors the next generation as Director of the
National Young Artists Program.
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