Early Music America held the finals of its 2nd Baroque Performance Competition, in association with University of Chicago Presents, on October 11, 2014. This competition encourages the development of emerging artists in the performance of Baroque music.
Application Process
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Eligible Applicants
Applicants must be ensembles (minimum 2 performers) using voice(s) and/or period instrument(s).
Repertoire is limited to Baroque period, roughly 1600-1750 A.D., performed on period instruments and in a style which is historically informed.
Applicants must be members of EMA (either the ensemble must be an organizational member of EMA or all members of the ensemble must be individual members).
Applicants must be residents of USA or Canada.
Applicants must meet the definition of “emerging artists”-ensembles which have not performed together for more than 5 years and where the average age of the performers is 35 or younger, as of the date of application (most of the performers should be under 35).
Previous ensemble winners of EMA competitions are not eligible to compete; ensembles including a current member of the EMA board or staff are not eligible to compete.
Judging
An anonymous panel of 3 judges, selected by EMA, will choose the finalists, based on performance quality of their recordings.
The selected finalists will be invited to give live 20 to 30-minute performances in concert at the Logan Center for the Arts on the University of Chicago Campus in Chicago. (Travel subsidies, $200/person up to a maximum $1,000 per finalist ensemble, will be available upon application to help subsidize the trip to Chicago.)
Prize winners will be selected immediately after the concert. A panel of 5 judges, selected by EMA, will judge the finalists’ competition in Chicago and select the winner with a celebratory reception following the announcement.
First Place Award
A cash prize of $3,000
Engagements with five major presenters of early music to perform a concert during the 2015-16 or 2016-17 season.
A short feature article in a subsequent issue of Early Music America magazine.
A feature on the early music radio program, Harmonia, as scheduled by the host, Angela Mariani.
PR coaching.
Access to a business coaching mentor.
Opportunity for broadcast on classical radio.
Audience Award
The Audience Prize is voted on by the audience in attendance at the finals. This prize includes a $1,000 cash prize and will be awarded immediately after the finals.
Presentation Award
The Presentation Prize winner, selected by the judges, receives $500 and is selected for presenting the most innovative concert experience combining inventive programming, compelling program notes, and undeniable stage presence.
Required Materials
Please submit a list of ensemble members including the following information: Name, Address, Phone Number, Email, Age and Instrument(s).
Bios of the performers. Word Limit: 300 Max for each performer
History of the Ensemble. Word Limit: 300 Max
15-30 minutes of total audio and/or video files demonstrating ensemble’s performance. May be multiple short selections. Files are ideally unedited, from a live performance, with applause deleted.
Please note-The competition focuses on music from the Baroque period, roughly 1600 to 1750. Works from the late 16th century are acceptable as long as the majority of works presented for the qualifying round and for the finals are clearly Baroque.
Application and Deadline
The application is now closed. Thank you for applying!
Recent Participants
2014 PARTICIPANTS
Photo by Dagan Taylor
INFUSION BAROQUE
Grand Prize & Audience Award
Montreal-based ensemble Infusion Baroque seeks to draw a new audience to baroque music through integrating high-quality chamber music performance with other artistic media. Past projects include “The Art of Corelli,” an evening of chamber music and visual art inspired by the composer’s extensive collection of paintings; and “Who Killed Leclair?”, an interactive murder mystery soirée based on the unsolved murder of the famous composer. Members of Infusion Baroque have appeared with Arion Baroque Orchestra, Ensemble Caprice, Les Voix Baroques, Theatre of Early Music, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Haymarket Opera, Ottawa Baroque Consort, American Baroque Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Infusion Baroque’s upcoming season includes a baroque-inspired fashion show, an interactive games night based on the workings of the music business, and an evening of baroque music selections paired with artisanal beers.
Alexa Raine-Wright, Baroque Flute, Recorder Sallynee Amawat, Baroque Violin Camille Paquette-Roy, Baroque Cello Rona Nadler, Harpsichord
Photos by Jess Beal, Norbrian Ronase and Jason Moy
TRIO SPERANZA
Presentation Award
Trio Speranza is a dynamic new ensemble dedicated to presenting engaging and thought-provoking performances of both familiar and lesser-known repertoire from the Baroque era. The group, comprising violinist Anna Griffis, cellist Cora Swenson Lee, and harpsichordist Jason Moy, made their debut in a Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concert at the historic Trinity Church on Copley Square in the summer of 2013. They reprised their program of French Baroque chamber music by Barriere, Francoeur, Leclair and Boismortier with two performances in Chicago in early 2014. This upcoming season has Trio Speranza exploring music of Buxtehude and other masters of the German Baroque.
Anna, Cora, and Jason are all prolific Early Music performers and have collaborated extensively before forming Trio Speranza in the summer of 2013. Collectively, they have attended the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute and Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, and frequently perform with respected Early Music ensembles around the country, including Boston Baroque, La Follia, Tempesta di Mare, the Newberry Consort, and New Trinity Baroque, among others.
A graduate of McGill University, Jason serves on the faculty of the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, where he teaches harpsichord and baroque chamber music. Equally at home on viola and violin, Anna holds degrees from Lawrence University and the Hartt School of Music, and is presently completing her Performance Diploma at Boston University. Cora is a graduate of Boston University and the Eastman School of Music, and became a member of Les Sirenes for their 2012-13 season, which included a concert appearance as Finalists in Early Music America’s inaugural Baroque Performance Competition in New York City.
Anna Griffis, violin Cora Swenson, cello Jason Moy, harpsichord
FINALISTS
Consort LaurentiaElixir BaroqueInfusion BaroqueLes RamoneursTrio Speranza
Past Recipients
PAST PARTICIPANTS
2012
Grand Prize Award: Pallade Musica
Audience Award: The Sebastians
