City Music Foundation Inaugural Awards Announced

6 soloists and 2 groups have been selected by the City Music Foundation, a new charity established to support musicians at the start of their professional careers.

The City Music Foundation is delighted to announce its inaugural awards.

The City Music Foundation brings together several City of London-based institutions, including the Barbican Arts Centre, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the London Symphony Orchestra, the City of London Festival and the Worshipful Company of Musicians.

The aim is to support aspiring professional musicians beyond the end of any formal musical training as they start out in their professional careers. .

This will provide the tools needed, by individuals and groups, to engage with a wider audience and to establish a professional career in music.

For each City Music Foundation artist a programme will be arranged that consists of a series of concerts, mentorship from experienced performers and industry experts, plus marketing, and PR support.

The City Music Foundation will support individuals or small groups in classical, jazz, folk and world music genres, identified through an annual nomination and audition process.

In this first year, over 50 nominations were received from conservatoires, arts organisations and venues from across the UK.

These were assessed by a panel consisting of artists and experts from across the music industry and reduced to a short list of 20 who were invited to audition and interview.

The 2013 award winners are

cellist Mikhail Nemtsov,

recorder player Miriam Nerval,

saxophonist Alastair Penman,

violinist Mari Poll,

harpist Claire Iselin,

pianist Cordelia Williams,

folk band Bridie Jackson & The Arbour,

and alternative-folk group Tir Eolas.

The City Music Foundation, headed by Managing Director Lizzie Allen, brings together a roll call of trustees and patrons that include the current Lord Mayor of the City of London Roger Gifford, who with his wife Clare founded the City Music Foundation and has made it the primary beneficiary of the 2013 Lord Mayor’s Appeal, Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Placido Domingo KBE, Sir Richard Stilgoe OBE, The Brodsky Quartet, Sally Matthews, Jacqui Dankworth and Simon Callow CBE.

Managing Director of City Music Foundation Lizzie Allen says “The City Music Foundation has been set up to support professional musicians during the transition period between education and career – arguably the most challenging time in a musician’s life – through performance opportunities and mentoring.

The quality of the applicants for the inaugural awards was high, which made judging challenging, if very enjoyable.

We are delighted to be awarding such a talented and eclectic group of musicians. We look forward to helping them build what I’m sure will be very successful careers in music.”

All award winners will perform at the City Music Foundation Showcase Concert on October 17^th at Milton Court Concert Hall, Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

For further information and to book tickets, please go https://citymusicfoundation.org/event/cmfshowcase2013/