Skip links

Alumni Performance Award

The Music Academy of the West is proud to announce clarinetist Gerbrich Meijer as the recipient of the 2025 Alumni Performance Award.

Meijer’s award performance will take place in Santa Barbara on November 19, 2025, as part of the Academy’s Mariposa Concert Series, in recital with Music Academy teaching artist Conor Hanick, performing a world premiere by Derek Bermel.

About the Award

The Alumni Performance Award (APA), sponsored by the Luria/Budgor Family Foundation and launched in 2024, honors outstanding alumni by providing a performance opportunity that supports their artistic journey and professional growth as a performing artist. The award provides a unique performance opportunity that embraces the artist’s pursuits and aligns with the Music Academy’s goals and vision for alumni engagement.

Award Selection Process
  • Each January a committee selects an alum to receive the award
  • The committee is composed of the Music Academy’s President & CEO, Chief Artistic Officer, Dean, and select teaching artists from the Music Academy’s Summer Festival & School roster, along with a non-voting representative from the Luria/Budgor Family Foundation 
Award Criteria
  • Consideration will be given to an alum who has achieved performance excellence and has experienced limited exposure and performance opportunity. 
  • Recipients receive an award of $10,000 and up to $3,000 for all expenses related to the performance. 
  • The performance will take place in the calendar year following the year in which the award was given.

My summers at the Academy were transformative, providing me with invaluable mentorship, inspiration, and opportunities that continue to shape my career. I’m especially excited to share this performance with Conor Hanick and to premiere a new work by Derek Bermel—it’s a true privilege to bring new music to life.

2025 APA Recipient

Gerbrich Meijer

A three-time Music Academy clarinet fellow (’20, ’21, ’22), Meijer is rapidly gaining international recognition as a chamber musician, soloist, and orchestral performer.  Meijer credits her three summers at the Music Academy of the West as a pivotal period in her artistic growth, fueling her creativity and shaping her career. 

Originally from the Netherlands, Meijer is currently pursuing a Soloist Class Degree at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. She recently earned her Master of Music degree from the esteemed Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, where she studied with Professor Yehuda Gilad. Her accolades include the Music Academy of the West MAX Award, the Audience Award from Dutch Classical Talent 2024, a nomination for the Grachtenfestival Award 2022, and the Special Prize at the Carl Nielsen International Competition 2022. Her debut album was recently released by AVROTROS.

A sought-after orchestral musician, Meijer has performed with renowned ensembles including the London Symphony Orchestra, The Concertgebouw Orchestra, Danish Radio, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. She previously served as principal clarinet of the European Union Youth Orchestra and she made her solo debut with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam in February 2025.

2024 APA Recipient

Evan Shinners

The inaugural recipient of the Alumni Performance Award was solo piano alum Evan Shinners (‘09), who performed in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art galleries in 2024.

Evan is known as an American pianist, clavichordist, electronic music composer, and devoted specialist to the music of J.S. Bach. Evan Shinners is a conductor and keyboardist with a deep focus on Baroque music. He is an alumnus of The Juilliard School where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal. Shinners began musical studies at age 10 in the European sacred choral tradition, singing and playing continuoHe was also recognized for his innovative Bach Pop-Up Storefront in New York City in 2018 as a recipient of the Music Academy of the West’s Alumni Enterprise Awards.

Evan’s awarded performance opportunity was held in Santa Barbara on February 24, 2024, at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, where he performed in solo recital as well as in a trio with two other Music Academy artists.