Young Performers Career Advancement Program
The Young Performers Career Advancement Program. YPCA, a program of the Arts Presenters Classical Connections initiative, is designed to assist classical musicians in the formative stages of their careers by offering opportunities to meet and work with established presenters, managers, agents and artists.
“I gained incredible insights into the music business and the relationships between all the people involved in producing performances and making a career,” says Ayano Ninomiya, violinist and 2009 YPCA participant. “I gained a lot more confidence through this knowledge – and excitement to start applying these concepts to forge a unique career path.”
The YPCA program provides a practical overview of the presenting and touring industry, as well as expert instruction in the development of audience engagement skills and the chance to perform live in front of a wide array of professionals from the field. Through a national partnership developed with the Sphinx Competition, APAP also provides an opportunity for a Sphinx Competition alumni artist or ensemble to participate in the program each year.
If you have any questions please contact Laura Benson, Professional Development Associate, at lbenson@artspresenters.org
ANNOUNCING: YPCA 2012
Read the official press release.
About the Artists:
Sebastian Bäverstam: Praised by The Strad for his “powerfully expressive style,” Swedish-American cellist Sebastian Bäverstam was featured on MusicalAmerica.com as the June 2011 “New Artist of the Month.” A 2009 winner of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Bäverstam has performed frequently on the syndicated radio program From the Top, as well as the PBS-TV version of that show, and he has participated in a PBS documentary filmed at Carnegie Hall. He performed his first full recital at the age of 6 at Harvard University and his first concerto with orchestra at age 7. He currently studies with Paul Katz at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
Michael Brown: Pianist Michael Brown is the first prize winner of the 2010 Concert Artists Guild Competition. He has appeared in major New York venues including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Symphony Space, and has performed as soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra conducted by Alan Gilbert at Alice Tully Hall. An accomplished composer, he is the recipient of the 2011 Lili Boulanger Memorial Fund Award whose past winners include Ned Rorem and Charles Wuorinen. He completed both undergraduate and graduate studies at the Juilliard School, earning dual master of music degrees in piano and composition.
Benjamin Hochman: Winner of the 2011 prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, pianist Benjamin Hochman has earned widespread acclaim for his performances with the New York, Israel and Prague Philharmonics and with the Chicago and Pittsburgh Symphonies, among others. He has collaborated with the Tokyo, Mendelssohn and Daedalus Quartets and the Zukerman ChamberPlayers. Hochman’s 2011-2012 season includes numerous solo recitals in the U.S. and abroad, orchestral engagements with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and performances with the Boston Chamber Music Society. Born in Jerusalem, Hochman is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Mannes College of Music. He is a Steinway artist.
Rachel Lee: Acclaimed for her lyricism and compelling stage presence, violinist Rachel Lee has performed as a soloist with leading international orchestras, including the Chicago, Saint Louis, Houston, Seattle and National Symphonies, the Boston Pops, the Berlin Staatskapelle, and at the Mostly Mozart, Verbier, Aspen and Ravinia Festivals. She possesses a wide-ranging repertoire and is particularly fascinated with music’s connections to literature and language. She received her B.A. in English from Harvard University in 2010, and in 2011 completed her masters at the New England Conservatory. Her teachers have included Dorothy DeLay and Itzhak Perlman with whom she studied at the Juilliard School.
Catalyst Quartet: Hailed by the New York Times as “invariably energetic and finely burnished” at their Carnegie Hall debut, Bryan Hernandez-Luch (violin), Karla Donehew-Perez (violin), Christopher Jenkins (viola) and Karlos Rodriguez (cello) make up the Catalyst Quartet. Alumni of the internationally acclaimed Sphinx Competition for young black and Latino string players, the ensemble embraces a mission to advance diversity in classical music and inspire new and young audiences with dynamic performances of cutting-edge repertoire by a wide range of composers. In the summer of 2011, the Catalyst Quartet studied with the renowned Juilliard String Quartet in New York City and has held residencies both domestically and abroad. Having been featured in The Strad and Strings magazines, as well as on Detroit Public Radio, the Catalyst Quartet maintains an active performance schedule and will lead the Sphinx Virtuosi on a national tour in the fall of 2011.
YPCA participants will:
- Attend APAP|NYC 2012
- Participate in an Arts Presenters Showcase in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall
- Maintain Year-long Access to National/International Performance Opportunities
Recognition:
The 2012 YPCA recipients will be showcased in a recital 5:30 p.m. Monday, January 9, 2012, in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Read reflections from YPCA alumni featured in the Spring 2011 issue of Inside Arts.
The Classical Connections program is underwritten by Arts Presenters Classical Connections Endowment.
Other Notable YPCA Alumni include: