NYWC 2007 SEED-MONEY GRANT RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED

SEED-MONEY GRANT RECIPIENTS

The following groups and individuals have been awarded Seed Money Grants from New York Women Composers for the 2007-2008 season. 

1)       Second Instrumental Unit, David C. Fulmer, director (complete information at www.secondinstrumentalunit.com) Residing in New York City, the Second Instrumental Unit is currently concluding their third full season. Throughout past seasons, the Unit has been featured both as Resident Ensemble and as Guest Ensemble at Queens College, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and the Juilliard School. In particular, the Unit has developed a special relationship with Queens College as ensemble in residence, where they have premiered over 50 new works by student composers. The Unit performed at Weill Recital Hall in a tribute concert to Milton Babbitt and was the featured ensemble at the American Composers Alliance Festival in June. The Second Instrumental Unit will perform a concert during the 2007-2008 season in Manhattan.

2)       Light and Sound, Jennifer DeVore, cello, Julianne Klopotic, violin, and Diana Kacso, pianist. This is a new venture for some well-known New York City freelance chamber musicians, who are starting a concert series in Park Slope, Brooklyn, at The Old Stone House. The three directors of this group all live and teach in the Park Slope neighborhood and have a built-in audience of enthusiastic and knowledgeable parents and students who are eager to see more concerts being given in their immediate neighborhood. Pianist Diana Kacso was born in Brazil and continued her studies at the Juilliard School. She was awarded a gold medal at the Rubinstein International Piano Competition and has won top prizes in other competitions including Leeds, Chopin, and Gina Bachauer. Violinist Julianne Klopotic is a winner of the Artists International Solo Competition and has performed in a wide variety of music including the Philip Glass Ensemble, the Microtonal Festival, the Riverside Symphony, as well as work with popular musicians such as Sheryl Crow and Alicia Keyes. Jennifer DeVore, cellist, has a degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and plays with a large variety of New York-based chamber groups including Bang On a Can, the SEM Ensemble, and Ensemble Toki.

3)       Siri Howard, soprano. Ms. Howard is completing her Master’s Degree at the Copland School of Music at Queens College, City University of New York. She plans to pursue a solo singing career in opera and classical performance. Ms. Howard performed a leading role in Bruce Saylor’s opera Orpheus Descending, which drew a rave review from The New York Times. Other roles she has performed have included Liesl in the national tour company of The Sound of Music, Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Sophie in Die Rosenkavalier, and Cinderella in Cendrillon.

4)       Ana Milosavljevic, violinist, has previously been awarded a seed-money grant for a concert performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. She will be given a partial grant to enable her to complete her imminent CD recording that will feature the music of several New York Women Composers members whose works she performed at that recital.

5)       North-South Consonance, Max Lifchitz, director, and pianist. This longstanding group, who also has its own record label, needs no introduction (www.northsouthmusic.org) As part of the 2007-2008 concert season, Mr. Lifchitz will perform a concert of piano music featuring four members of New York Women Composers and one other woman. The featured composers are Elizabeth Bell, Hilary Tann, Rain Worthington, Binnette Lipper, and Marilyn J. Ziffrin.