FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 


CELLIST DAVID FINCKEL NAMED 

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND HONOREE 

OF THE MENDELSSOHN FELLOWSHIP

 

New Fellowship Established to Promote Chamber Music in Korea

 

Cellist David Finckel has been named honoree and Artistic Director of The Mendelssohn Fellowship, a program established to identify young Korean musicians and promote chamber music in South Korea. Administered by the Seoul-based firm, Casual Classic Co., the two-year fellowship provides an artistic budget of $20,000 or more, depending on the scope of the project. The Fellowship is open to musicians between the ages of 18 and 33 who are dedicated to the continued expansion of professional chamber music.

  

"The goal of the Mendelssohn Fellowship is to see, perhaps in a decade, a Korea which is known the world over as a country where chamber music is enjoyed by all, and practiced by many," said David Finckel. "These young musicians will combine their passion with creative, entrepreneurial thinking, to work in Korean society. They will reach out to their peers, the audience of the future. And they will do it by means of performances, teaching, digital communication, and many wonderful new ideas that we are all excited to learn of. The future of classical music is in the hands of the young. It is our responsibility to encourage and guide them. They, their children, and their grandchildren, will inherit what we now create together."

 

David Finckel will be assisted in his role of Artistic Director by an international, multi-disciplinary Advisory Committee whose members will participate in both the selection and execution phases of the project.
 

  ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP 

The Fellowship is named after the prolific and gifted 19th century composer Felix Mendelssohn who greatly expanded the understanding and appreciation of music. It will support the efforts of a highly accomplished and motivated young Korean musician to further the art of chamber music and take advantage of the growing enthusiasm for chamber music in Korea. Application of the fellowship funds may include presenting chamber music performances, educational programs and outreach events, fees for collaborating musicians and educators, media initiatives, such as website, live streaming or distance teaching, music industry and/or educational conferences, consultation expenses, and promotional costs.

 

In addition to musical skill and administrative foresight, applicants will be evaluated based upon the creativity and feasibility of their proposed projects. The applicant selected to receive the fellowship will design and execute projects in consultation with Casual Classic and with the artistic oversight of David Finckel and the Advisory Committee. Casual Classic will dispense funds, monitor progress, and offer guidance as necessary.

  

THE SELECTION PROCESS:

 

September 30: Application deadline

November 1:    Finalists announced

December 6:    Finalist auditions

December 10:  Winner announced (at the Chamber MusicToday festival in Seoul) 

 

  ABOUT DAVID FINCKEL 

Cellist David Finckel's multifaceted career as concert performer, recording artist, educator, arts administrator and cultural entrepreneur places him in the ranks of today's most influential classical musicians. Honored as Musical America's 2012 Musicians of the Year, along with pianist Wu Han, he has been hailed as a "world class soloist" (Denver Post) and "one of the top ten, if not top five, cellists in the world today" (Nordwest Zeitung, Germany). David Finckel appears in over one hundred concerts each season as orchestral soloist, in recital with pianist Wu Han, and as cellist of the Grammy Award-winning Emerson String Quartet at the most prestigious venues and concert series across the United States and around the world.

 

David Finckel's wide-ranging musical activities also include the launch of ArtistLed, classical music's first musician-directed, internet-based recording company. In addition, David Finckel serves as Artistic Co-Director (with Wu Han) of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Chamber Music Today Festival in South Korea and they are the founders and Artistic Directors of Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

David Finckel has achieved universal renown for his passionate commitment to nurturing the careers of countless young artists through a wide array of education initiatives. He currently presides over two of the most important large-scale chamber music programs in the country: the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMS Two program in New York and Music@Menlo's Chamber Music Institute in California. He has established chamber music training workshops for young artists in South Korea in cooperation with the LG Corporation; is on the faculty of Stony Brook University, where he teaches chamber music; and is Professor of Cello at New York's Juilliard School. In addition, he created Cello Talks, a series of one hundred innovative short web videos covering a wide range of topics relating to his vast knowledge of cello literature and technique, which has attracted an enthusiastic following around the globe.

 

  THE MENDELSSOHN FELLOWSHIP STAFF

David Finckel, Artistic Director

 

Jeehyun Kim, Director

President, Casual Classic Co., Ltd.

President, Seoul Royal Symphony Orchestra

Professor of Music, Myong-Ji College

Global Council Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, USA

 

Advisory Committee

 

Dmitri Atapine

Professor of Cello, University of Nevada; Music@Menlo; Artistic Director, Argenta Concerts

Gloria Chien 

Professor of Piano, Lee University; Artistic Director, String Theory at The Hunter

Paul Chung

Vice President, Brand Management, LG Corp.

Tong Soo Chung 

Senior Foreign Counsel, Yulchon Law firm

Lawrence Dutton 

Violist, Emerson String Quartet; Professor, Viola & Chamber Music, Stony Brook University

Ruth Eliel

Executive Director, The Colburn Foundation, Los Angeles

Sang Jin Kim

Violist, Professor, Yonsei University 

Soovin Kim 

Professor of Violin, Stony Brook University

Sung-hyun Kim 

Vice President, CFO Finance Division, LG Uplus

Kristin Lee

Violinist, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Sean Lee 

Violinist, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Jupiter String Quartet 

Ensemble in Residence, New England Conservatory

Adela H. Park    

Pianist, Korean National University of Arts; Yale University, Peabody Conservatory

Michael Parloff 

Principal flutist, the Metropolitan Opera; Artistic Director, Parlance Chamber Concerts

Steven Tenenbom 

Violist, Orion String Quartet; Professor, Viola and Chamber Music,

The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute

 PRESS INQUIRIES/ MEDIA LINKS


 Milina Barry PR | 212.420.0200 |  E-mail   

 

 

Additional links:  

 

 

 David Finckel in the News  

 

 High res photos      

 


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