Press Releases
KMFA Young Violinist Competition debuts at McCallum High School Fine Arts Academy
Prizes include master class with world-renowned violinist Anne Akiko Meyers
February, 2009---Austin, TX--- KMFA 89.5 FM, Austin’s classical music radio station, is pleased to debut its KMFA Young Violinist Competition and Award at McCallum High School, which features Austin’s only fine arts academy embedded in a public high school. As a flagship beneficiary, McCallum Fine Arts Academy Orchestra was identified as a critical starting point for introducing the new program to the Austin community, focused on young violinists playing in school orchestras.
The winning young violinist will receive use of the KMFA violin, handcrafted by William Townsend and donated by The Amati Foundation, for one year, as well as an invitation to a master class with Anne Akiko Meyers, one of the world’s premiere concert violinists, who will be in Austin performing as part of the UT School of Music’s Starling Distinguished Violinist Series. Ms. Meyers counts among her own collection a violin made by Mr. Townsend as well. Additional prizes include tickets to Starling Distinguished Violinist Series and Austin Symphony concerts, as well as an Austin Chamber Music Center Festival Workshop scholarship and season pass.
To round out the robust prize package, the winner will also receive a $200 scholarship with Blackerby Violin Shop for music and supplies for the year, and repairs and adjustments to the violin as needed, provided by Sandro Cocco Violin Studio.
Three finalists will also have the opportunity to win prizes, including a Master Class on violin making and care, provided by Sandro Cocco Violin Studio, repair services by Sandro Cocco Violin Studio, and sheet music and supplies provided by Blackerby Violin Shop.
“I am honored to play a small part in providing an outstanding young violinist one of my violins,” said the violin’s builder, Mr. Townsend. “To empower them to use an essential tool of the trade, and then to share that in a master class with the world-renowned violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, is a positive step forward for any young musician’s career and life in music.”
On Saturday, March 7, 2009, violinists from McCallum Fine Arts Academy Orchestra will perform excerpts from Schubert's Mass No.2 in G major for a selection of esteemed competition judges. The judges include Peter Bay, Music Director and Conductor of The Austin Symphony; Michelle Schumann, Artistic Director of Austin Chamber Music Center; Jennifer Bourianoff, Assistant Concertmaster for the Austin Symphony and instructor at the Austin Chamber Music Center; Aurelien Petillot, founder and Director of Viola by Choice and instructor at the Austin Chamber Music Center; and Will Taylor, founder of Will Taylor and Strings Attached.
Schubert's Mass No.2 in G major was selected as the audition music for The KMFA Young Violinist Competition as it is the featured music to be performed by the McCallum Fine Arts Academy Orchestra at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall this June as part of the Masterworks Series. The Masterworks Series invites qualified ensembles to collaborate on a major work for choir, professional orchestra and soloists under the direction of a nationally recognized conductor. This is the McCallum Orchestra's second invitation to Carnegie Hall, having performed there in 2006.
Joan Kobayashi, General Manager for KMFA, offers: “The KMFA Young Violinist Competition and Award recognizes the impact that using a quality instrument can have for an aspiring performer. It’s a unique opportunity for deserving young violinists in our community, and one we hope contributes significantly to their performance experience while in school, as well as their future relationship with classical music performance.”
For additional information on KMFA’s Young Violinist Competition and Award, please visit www.kmfa.org. To learn how to donate to the Carnegie Hall Performance Fund, visit the McCallum Orchestra Performance Fund website at www.macorchestrafund.org. (You may also contact Fiona Cherbak, ThemePark Studios, 512/916-9633 or fiona@themeparkstudios.com, for more information in reference to the McCallum Carnegie Hall Performance Fund.)
About Classical 89.5, KMFA: Classical 89.5 KMFA is a listener-supported, community radio station, incorporated in 1967, relying on the majority of its funding from direct listener and business contributions. A noncommercial, all-classical format station serving an average of 90,000 listeners each week, KMFA features both local programming and nationally distributed programming from Public Radio International, American Public Media and National Public Radio. For more information on KMFA, visit www.kmfa.org
About The Amati Foundation: The Amati Foundation supports the stringed arts through its innovative loan program which puts high quality instruments into the hands of young performers and through The Amati Foundation Historical Collection, a recreation of the world’s most important violins, violas, celli, and double basses. For more information, visit www.amatifoundation.org
