The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, Western Piedmont Symphony, St. Olaf Orchestra, and the youth orchestra Vivace are among the 2013 winners of awards from The American Prize, an annual competition that gives cash awards, professional adjudication, and public recognition to U.S. ensembles. The competition’s performance prizes went to the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, based in New York, N.Y.; the Western Piedmont Symphony (Hickory, North Carolina); St. Olaf Orchestra (at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.); Vivace (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.); and Jasper High School Legacy Orchestra (Plano, Tex.). Conducting prizes went to David Bernard, music director of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony; Jonathan Handman, music director of the Vivace Arlington High School Philharmonic (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.); Jeffrey Meyer, music director of the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra (Ithaca, N.Y.); and Nan Harrison Washburn, music director of the Michigan Philharmonic (Plymouth, Mich.). The American Prize, founded in 2009 by composer/conductor/playwright David Katz and based in Danbury, Connecticut, gives orchestra awards in five categories: professional orchestra, community or faith-based orchestra, college/university orchestra, secondary-school orchestra, and youth orchestra. For more information and a complete prize list, visit the American Prize website.
Posted October 24, 2013
