Music Academy of the West Invests in Alumni Innovation
2021 Alumni Enterprise Award Winners Announced
Six winners will receive $85,000 in grants that advance social entrepreneurship and seed the industry with new ideas and platforms
Winning projects go global with multi-continent imprint, receiving robust creative support and mentorship from the Music Academyās Innovation Institute
Total value of grants awarded since 2018 reaches $320,000 distributed to 26 alumni
The Music Academy of the Westās mission expands exponentially as its more than 7,000 alumni are challenged annually to create projects that:
- Support innovation in areas including artistic expression, audience development, education, community engagement,Ā social justice,Ā and technology;
- Advance social entrepreneurial endeavors/projects in classical music;
- Generate positive learning outcomes.
"It is imperative for us to help give artists a voice to react to our complex world. These awards offer them investment in their vision for the future. Their projects will have an immediate impact on their communities and spark new thinking about how music is performed and presented globally."
Scott Reed
Music Academy President & CEO
Clive Chang
"The winning projects represent incredible enterprise and ingenuity in the creative pursuits of Academy alumni. It's thrilling to see the impact these musicians are having on peer artists and audiences, along with the education and legacy they offer the field of music."
The 2021 Alumni Enterprise Award Winners:
- Camila Barrientos OssioĀ (clarinet ā11, ā12) andĀ Bruno Luiz LourensettoĀ (trumpet ā12) will offer real-time, online video concerts for COVID patients across Latin America and beyond inĀ MĆŗsica para Respirar 24/7
- Rich Coburn (vocal piano ā14) is creating aĀ BIPOC Voices: The Library of Music for Voice and Orchestra by BIPOC Composers,Ā a database of orchestrated vocal works by Black, Indigenous, and other Composers of Color, featuring samples of many previously un-recorded works
- Cristina Cutts DoughertyĀ (tuba ā20, ā21 and a 2020 Fast Pitch Award Winner) is headingĀ The Resilience Project,Ā a book which aims to secure the legacies of historic women in brass by detailing their orchestral careers and pedagogy from the 1940’s to today
- Adanya DunnĀ (mezzo-soprano ā14, ā15) will presentĀ InsideOut: Pop-Up Concerts & Walking Concert Tour (Red Light Arts & Culture).Ā These will be a range of indoor and outdoor, socially-distanced concerts (following a range of COVID protocols), in Amsterdamās Red Light District
- Christina Giuca KrauseĀ (vocal piano ā13, ā17 and a winner of the 2017 Marilyn Horne Song Competition) evolvesĀ Composition of a City: Digital,Ā a Chicago-based musical education and mentorship endeavor bridging classical music and hip hop
ABOUT THE 2021 AWARD-WINNERS & PROJECTS
Award: $20,000
The 2017 winner of the Music Academy’s Marilyn Horne Song CompetitionĀ is the Artistic Director of LYNX, a nonprofit art song organization that amplifies diverse voices through new song commissions, inclusive performances, and innovative educational programming. She is currently on faculty at Hope College and Lutheran Summer Music Festival.ĀLYNX’s initiativeĀ Composition of a CityĀ addresses the challenges facing youth on Chicagoās South Side by providing students with positive mentorship and a safe musical outlet to share their stories through a curriculum incorporating elements of both hip hop and classical music.
LEARN MOREABOUT MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST
Founded in 1947, Music Academy of the West offers year-round programming for the local community and talented musicians from around the world. Each year, 140 fellows ages 18-34 are selected by merit-based audition from more than 2,000 applicants worldwide to participate in an eight-week Summer School and Festival to prepare them for 21st-century careers. At the Summer Festival, they receive opportunities for advanced study and frequent orchestral, chamber, recital and masterclass performances under the guidance of more than 70 internationally renowned faculty and guest artists. Each fellow receives a full scholarship for tuition, room and board. In 2018, the Music Academy began a partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) that brings LSO musicians to Santa Barbara to teach and perform, and sends twelve Keston MAX Fellows to London for ten days of training and performance with the orchestra. Career-advancing opportunities for fellows and alumni are offered through the Academyās Innovation Institute. Summer Innovation Seminars bring together industry leaders and cutting-edge artists to engage fellows and audiences in discussion about the present and future state of classical music, while the annual Fast Pitch Awards give fellows a platform to present their pioneering ideas. The Academyās Alumni Enterprise Awards have provided $320,000 in grants for forward-thinking projects in artistic expression, audience development, education, community engagement, social justice and technology; recipients of the awards are also invited to attend a five-day Innovation Residential. Academy alumni create entrepreneurial careers in music and beyond and are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and academic faculties throughout the world. Music Academy of the West also provides music education locally throughĀ Sing!,Ā a free, after-school choral initiative for seven-to-twelve-year-olds from 28 schools in Santa Barbara County. The Academy presents more than 150 public events annually in four campus venues and in sites across Santa Barbara and online. For more information, visitĀ musicacademy.org.photos courtesy of the artists header collage content: top row:Ā Camila Barrientos Ossio and Bruno Luiz Lourensetto share the power of music with those affected by COVID; as part of Red LightĀ Arts & Culture, Adanya Dunn serenades Amsterdam (Photo:Ā Marijn Schulte Photography) bottom row:Ā Cristina Cutts Dougherty profiles leading women in brass; Composition of a City and Christina Giuca Krause educate by connecting hip hop and classical music; Rich Coburn’s Voices Library highlights a range of BIPOC composersĀ Released: January 14, 2021 Kate Oberjat Director of Marketing and Communications Music Academy of the West koberjat@musicacademy.org