COMPETITIONS

1 Trio Menil

2 Abel Selaocoe

3 Nicola Benedetti

TRIO MENIL PHOTO JI-YEON LEE. SELAOCOE PHOTO MLUNGISI MLUNGWANA. BENEDETTI PHOTO ANDY GOTTS

1 Trio Menil has won the $5,000 grand prize at the Plowman Chamber Music Competition, which took place in Columbia, MO, US. The players also received the $2,000 Odyssey Chamber Music Series Award. The Houston-based piano trio comprises violinist Jeongwon Claire An, 24, cellist David Dietz, 26, and pianist Jonathan Mak, 25. The Zelter Quartet won first place and $2,000 in the piano/strings category. The quartet comprises violinists Kyle Gilner, 30, and Gallia Kastner, 26, violist Carson Rick, 29, and cellist Allan Hon, 31.

2 On 1 March at London’s Southbank Centre, South African cellist Abel Selaocoe and British violist Timothy Ridout were among the recipients of the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards. Selaocoe was awarded the Instrumentalist Award while Ridout received the Young Artist Award. The awards celebrate classical artists dedicated to furthering the art’s reach in society.

3 Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti will receive the 2023 Award of Excellence at the Women in Classical Music Symposium in Dallas, TX, US, in November. The symposium aims to help women in classical music reach their full potential professionally, and the event will include presentations from industry leaders and networking events.

4 Double bassist Nina Bernat, 22, and the Isidore Quartet are among the 2023 recipients of Avery Fisher Career Grants. They will each receive $25,000 to advance their musical careers. Bernat is a student at the Juilliard School, while the Isidore Quartet, which formed in 2019, comprises violinists Adrian Steele, 23, and Phoenix Avalon, 22, violist Devin Moore, 24, and cellist Joshua McClendon, 23.

FORTHCOMING COMPETITIONS & AWARDS

Bartók World Competition in Budapest, Hungary, for violinists aged 30 or under. First prize €22,000 Deadline 19 May; competition 2–10 September Web bit.ly/3lQPYF9

Marie Cantagrill International Violin Competition in Le Mas-d’Azil, France, for violinists of all ages. First prize €5,000 Deadline 31 May; competition 7–10 July Web bit.ly/37NqCAY

Leos Janáček International Competition in Brno, Czech Republic, for cellists and double basses aged 35 or under. First prize CZK100,000 (£3,700) Deadline 31 May; competition 8–17 September Web bit.ly/3Ku5t03

APPOINTMENTS

• The Mahler Chamber Orchestra has named José Maria Blumenschein as its co-concertmaster

• American violinist Alice Ivy-Pemberton has been appointed co-leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra

• French violinist Gilles Apap is to be Camerata Zürich’s artist-in-residence

• The University of Houston’s Moores School of Music has named the Formosa Quartet as quartet-in-residence

• The Hallé Orchestra has appointed German violinist Marie Schreer as its second violin leader

For current vacancies, see our online jobs page at www.thestrad.com/jobs

PREMIERE of the MONTH

MAN OF THE AUER: Italian violinist Giuseppe Gibboni

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