January 24, 2011
Dear VEA participants;
It is my pleasure to announce the winners of the first Vandoren Emerging Artist competition. Before I do, I want to thank you for your participation and sincerely hope you compete next year. The level of competition was extremely high and it was a pleasure to hear all your performances.
The judges found the job of picking a winner a very difficult task and per their request we will change the requirements for next year so that all competitors can be judged on the same type of performances. The judges and the committee (a larger body of artists contributing to this program) will complete those requirements and we will publish them when we call for auditions for next year. Since you have already competed, we will send you this information ahead of our general announcement.
The judges for this year were:
Jazz
David Bixler – alto saxophonist, composer and educator, David has been steadily gathering attention for his unique playing and writing. David has performed and toured with the orchestras of Lionel Hampton Toshiko Akyoshi and Duke Ellington. Since 2008, David has been an Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at Bowling Green University.
Mark Gross – Recording artist Mark Gross has recorded on over 40 notable jazz recording, including 2 GRAMMY winning projects by the Dave Holland Big Band - 'What Goes Around' on ECM Records, and 'Overtime' on Dare 2 Records. Mark has recorded 2 CDs under his own name to date, 'Preach Daddy' on King Records and 'Riddle of the Sphinx' on J Curve Records. His performances are international with a proverbial who’s who of Jazz.
Classical Saxophone
Steve Stusek – As professor of saxophone at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, has earned an international reputation for virtuosic performances of standard and new works for the saxophone as well as for his engaging master classes and clinics. A founding member of both the acclaimed Red Clay Sax Quartet and the UNCG Quatuor d’Anches, he has won the prestigious Dutch Chamber Music Competition as part of the saxophone-accordion duo 2Track with Dutch accordion player Otine van Erp. Along with degrees from Indiana University (BM, DM) and Arizona State University (MM), Stusek has studied at the Paris Conservatoire and the Conservatoire de la Region de Paris, where he earned the Prix d'Or à l'Unanimité in saxophone performance.
Chien-Kwan Lin - Assistant Professor of Saxophone, Eastman School of Music. Chien-Kwan has a BM, MM with distinction, recipient, George W. Chadwick Medal, New England Conservatory; DMA, Performer's Certificate, Eastman School of Music. Chien-Kwan Lin has appeared as soloist and guest artist with the New England Conservatory and Eastman Wind Ensembles, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Tanglewood Music Center Festival Orchestra, the New World Symphony, the Portland (ME) Symphony, the Eastman Philharmonia, as well as the Boston and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestras.
Clarinet
Pascual Martinez Forteza - The Acting Associate Principal, The Honey M. Kurtz Family Chair, Pascual joined the New York Philharmonic as Second Clarinet in May 2001 after a tenure with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where he had been Second Clarinet since 1998. From 1999-2000, he also served as that orchestra’s Acting Associate Principal Clarinet. Prior to his appointment in Cincinnati, Mr. Martinez Forteza was Assistant Principal Clarinet of the Symphony Orchestra of Baleares, Spain, from 1991-1998
Todd Levy - Principal Clarinet of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and of the Santa Fe Opera, as well as a participant in the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Todd is on the clarinet faculty at the University of Wisconsin/Milwaukee. Todd has collaborated with some of the latter 20th Century’s most significant composers in performances of the Brahms f minor Sonata arranged for clarinet and orchestra by Luciano Berio with Maestro Berio conducting, the World Premiere of Peter Schickele’s Concerto for Clarinet and Flute with the conducting, and the European premiere of John Harbison’s Concerto for Clarinet and Oboe.
Now, the winners:
Brian Clancy - Jazz Saxophone
Brian grew up in Southlake, Texas where he studied under Gio Washington-Wright and Pete Gallio and graduated from Carroll Sr. High School in 2007. He is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies at University of North Texas. Since becoming a member of the prestigious One O'clock Lab Band in the fall of '08, he has had the privilege of playing alongside Pete DeSiena, Craig Johnson, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, James Carter, Lyle Mayes, John Mosca, Tim Ries and Billy Hart. He also had the unique opportunity to play a tour in Sweden and Finland with his teachers Ed Soph and Stefan Karlsson this past spring. He currently plays around the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the big band and small group setting.
Emil Khudyev - Clarinet
Born in 1986 in Turkmenistan, Emil began his musical training under the auspices of the Moscow Conservatory. At the age of 7, Emil was admitted to the Special Music School of Turkmenistan, then one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union. In the summer of 2001 Emil won a full scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Camp. While there, he was offered a full scholarship to study at Interlochen Arts Academy, where he then studied for four years with Nathan Williams. In 2005 Emil began further studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music under Franklin Cohen. In 2006, he was selected to participate in the Carnegie Hall Workshop Young Artist Concert under the great conductor David Robertson. He currently studies with David Shifrin at the Yale School of Music.
Phil Pierick - Classical Saxophone
Phil is pursuing a master's degree in saxophone performance with Debra Richtmeyer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he holds the position of saxophone teaching assistant. As winner of the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund for Musicians, Phil studied with Jean-Michel Goury in Paris from 2009-2010 at the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Boulogne-Billancourt. Phil received Bachelor of Music degrees with Highest University Honors in Performance and Music History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2009. Phil recently won the 2011 MTNA East Central Division Young Artist Competition and was runner-up in the 2009 MTNA National Chamber Music Competition.
If you have any other questions not answered in this announcement, please contact me via email at michaels@dansr.com.
In the upcoming weeks, you will receive additional communication from us regarding news, information and other opportunities.
We are pleased you chose the VEA and we look forward to hearing you again next year!
Sincerely,
Michael Skinner
