Russian Renaissance
(Photo: University of Michigan)
Argus Quartet, Senior Strings Division Winner
Dana Kelley, Viola
Argus Quartet
University of Michigan
May 4, 2017
ANN
ARBOR—After two days of semifinals and finals concerts at the
University of Michigan, Russian Renaissance has won the $100,000
M-Prize, for the second annual chamber arts competition hosted by the
U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
The
announcement was made Thursday night at Hill Auditorium after the grand
prize gala competition, which also featured senior strings division
winner, the Argus Quartet and senior winds division winner the Donald
Sinta Quartet.
Russian
Renaissance, an ensemble from Moscow that presents "high calibre
traditional folk music through a modern lens," debuted in October 2015,
performing with world-renowned director Emir Kusturica, two-time
laureate of the Cannes Film Festival and the No Smoking Orchestra.
Since
then, the quartet—which includes members Ivan Kuznetsov (balalaika),
Anastasia Zakharova (domra), Aleksandr Tarasov (button-accordion) and
Ivan Vinogradov (balalaika-contrabasso)—have won many prestigious awards
in international music competitions. They have performed in Tchaikovsky
Concert Hall and Gnesins’ Academy Concert Hall in Moscow; Yota Space
concert hub in St. Petersburg; and the Youth Theatre in Rostov-on-Don.
As
part of the prize package, Russian Renaissance will also be presented
by U-M's University Musical Society in their chamber arts concert series
next season and will be included in upcoming season programming for
Interlochen Presents and University of Florida Performing Arts.
Each
of the top three Senior First Place Laureates will be invited back to
the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance for a residency during the
2017-18 academic year. Additional awards are provided in partnership
with Great Lakes Performing Artist Associates, Azica Records and Chamber
Music America.
The
event was created by SMTD Dean Aaron Dworkin in 2016 with the aim of
identifying and showcasing the highest caliber of chamber music talent
in the world. It received applications representing 41 countries and 60
performing arts institutions. Twenty-nine ensembles, comprising 112
artists from 7 countries, participated in the semifinal and final rounds
May 2-3 at U-M.
This
year's M-Prize brings new additions: recently appointed artistic
director Matt Albert, founding violinist/violist of the groundbreaking
ensemble Eighth Blackbird and chair of SMTD's new Department of Chamber
Music; an interview round for first place Laureates (senior division
winners) to present and advocate for their ensemble's curatorial vision;
and an increased prize pool.
"We
were incredibly impressed with the talent presented at this year’s
competition," said Matt Albert, M-Prize artistic director and chair of
the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance’s department of chamber
music. "Russian Renaissance is a fantastic example of the kind of
innovative chamber music that makes the M-Prize so unique. We look
forward to their return to Ann Arbor next year."
The
international jury includes former New York Philharmonic concertmaster
Rodney Friend, Juilliard String Quartet cellist Astrid Schween, Swiss
saxophonist Lars Mlekusch, renowned flautist Carol Wincenc, multigenre
cellist Jeffrey Zeigler and Grammy Award-winning soprano Dawn Upshaw.
M-Prize
is sponsored by U-M's Office of the Provost and received additional
support from an anonymous donor. The goals of the 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; and to
evolve the breadth and depth of the chamber arts landscape and
associated professional opportunities for exceptional ensembles.
Including
the grand prize, which was awarded to The Calidore String Quartet last
year, more than $200K in prize money was distributed among the top three
winners in three different categories—strings, woodwinds and "open"—in
Junior (ages 18 and under) and Senior (ages 19-35) divisions. The "open"
category can feature any instrumentation, including percussion, voice
or technology, and music that contains a significant amount of
improvisation such as jazz, bluegrass and world music.
M-Prize Finals winners:
Junior Strings
First prize, $5,000: Astera String Quartet (Chicago)
Second prize, $3,000: Viera String Quartet (Chicago)
Third prize, $2,000: Invictus Piano Quartet (Gurnee, Ill.; Battle Creek, Mich.; Fishers, Ind.)
Junior Winds
First prize, $5,000: KGT Trio (Chicago)
Second prize, $3,000: The Bone Rangers (Chicago)
Third prize, $2,000: Zephyrus Winds (Chicago)
Senior Strings
First prize, $20,000: Argus Quartet (New Haven, Conn.)
Second prize, $8,000: Stratos Quartet (Vienna, Austria)
Third prize, $5,000: Vera Quartet (Bloomington, Ind.)
Senior Winds
First prize, $20,000: Donald Sinta Quartet (Allendale, Mich.; Ann Arbor, Mich.; Columbus, Ga.)
Second prize, $8,000: Keuris Quartet (Paris, France; Amsterdam,The Netherlands)
Third prize, $5,000: Signum Saxophone Quartet (Bonn, Düsseldorf and Cologne, Germany)
Senior Open
First prize, $20,000: Russian Renaissance (Moscow, Russia)
Second prize, $8,000: The Living Earth Show (San Francisco)
Third prize, $5,000: Avido Duo (Vienna, Austria)
Senior Grand Prize
Winner, $100,000: Russian Renaissance (prize money includes $20,000 from First Prize in Senior Open division)
No comments:
Post a Comment