News
London Music Masters’ three new 2012-2015 LMM Award Holders perform recitals at Wigmore Hall in October
25 Jun 2012
Alexandra Soumm 16 October
Hyeyoon Park 18 October
Benjamin Beilman 20 October
Hyeyoon Park 18 October
Benjamin Beilman 20 October
“This is clearly an award scheme which seeks and finds the best of the best”
Sir Roger Norrington, Conductor
Sir Roger Norrington, Conductor
London Music Masters announces individual recitals with its three new Award Holders for 2012-15: violinists Alexandra Soumm (France), Hyeyoon Park (South Korea) and Benjamin Beilman (United States) will perform individual recitals in Wigmore Hall, London on 16, 18 and 20th October. These will be Beilman and Park’s debut recitals in London. The LMM Awards are three-year career development programmes which include performance opportunities at the Wigmore Hall and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The award package is individually tailored to each recipient.
LMM Award Holders 2012-15
American violinist Benjamin Beilman is rapidly gaining attention for his ‘impeccable’ playing and ‘eloquence and flair’ (MusicalAmerica.com). In May he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, worth $25,000. In 2010 he was first-prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and Montreal International Music Competition and won the bronze medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. He was also awarded the Helen Armstrong Violin Fellowship and three performance prizes. Also in 2010, he released his debut recording of the Prokofiev complete sonatas for violin and piano on Analekta.
Recent and upcoming appearances include a solo performance with L’Orchestre Métropolitain de Quebec under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, recitals with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Montréal Bach Festival and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Beilman is also a passionate advocate of contemporary music and has given many debut performances, including Jennifer Higdon’s Violin Concerto with the South Dakota and Glens Falls Symphony orchestras.
An avid chamber musician, Beilman joins Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two Roster in the 2012-13 season.
‘…A poised and monstrously talented 20-year-old violinist….’
– Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia
20-year-old Korean violinist Hyeyoon Park has received many prizes and awards. At just 17, she was the youngest ever winner of the 2009 ARD International Music Competition in Munich and in 2011, she received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.
Hyeyoon made her orchestra debut at the age of nine with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then, she has performed with many leading orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Weimar, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, and has recently toured with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and Sir Roger Norrington in Japan.
Recent and upcoming concert appearances include performances with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
‘Hyeyoon Park is a wonderful young violinist. Fearsome technique, engaging natural musicianship, charming personality.’ – Sir Roger Norrington, Conductor
22-year-old French violinist Alexandra Soumm has appeared with many leading orchestras in the United Kingdom and Europe. She is currently a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and has performed with many of the BBC orchestras including a recent performance of Glazunov Violin Concerto with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Alexander Lazarev. In France, she has appeared as soloist with Orchestre National de Lyon and Michel Plasson, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse with Tugan Sokhiev, the Orchestre National de Montpellier with Juraj Valcuha, the Orchestre National d'Ile de France with Enrique Mazzola, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice with Frédéric Lodéon and the Orchestre de Paris with Neeme Järvi.
She has upcoming engagements as soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Zurich Chamber Orchestra. This year Alexandra will also return to the Verbier and Gstaad Festivals.
Soumm plays on a Giovanni Baptista Guadagnini violin (Turin, c.1785) known as the ‘ex-Kavakos’. The loan of the instrument by a benefactor is part of the London Music Masters Awards and has kindly been arranged through Florian Leonhard Fine Violins, London.
‘youth and vitality pour forth from these delicious recordings…by violinist Alexandra Soumm’ – The Strad
London Music Masters Awards
The LMM Awards are given every three years to three outstanding violinists from across the globe, between the ages of 16 and 25. The Awards are career-development programmes, which assist exceptionally talented young musicians to further their international careers while serving as positive role models, reaching new audiences and enriching their communities. In addition to performances in leading concert halls and festivals, the programme enables these talented young violinists to work with contemporary composers and to receive mentoring from members of the performing arts, the music industry and LMM advisors.
Benefits of the programme include:
• Financial award of £10,000 to enhance their musical development
• Individual recitals at Wigmore Hall
• Concerto performances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall
• Premiering new works by leading contemporary composers commissioned by London Music Masters
Agata Szymczewska, 2009-2012 LMM Award Holder, made her London concerto debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and renowned conductor Osmo Vänskä in October 2010 as part of her LMM Award She was also given the opportunity to work with Royal Philharmonic Society Award-winning composer Martin Suckling, whose new violin concerto, de sol y grana, she premiered at the Spitalfields Music Winter Festival in December 2011. Agata’s second performance of this new work followed in May 2012 with Southbank Sinfonia at St John’s, Waterloo.
Agata Szymczewska explained:
‘What inspired me the most was having the opportunity to engage with and immerse myself in a great variety of high-quality art and musical experiences… which has had an incredibly strong impact on my musical life.’
A key element of the LMM Award Holders’ role is a commitment to inspire and mentor school children, conveying their enthusiasm for classical music and acting as role models. , Each violinist attends the three primary schools in Lambeth and Westminster taking part in LMM’s renowned educational initiative, the Bridge Project, currently working with children aged between 4 and 9 years. These opportunities are hugely rewarding for the young professionals, the schools and the children.
Jennifer Pike, 2009-2012 LMM Award Holder, had the opportunity to work with Royal Philharmonic Society Award-winning composer Charlotte Bray, creating a new work performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and children from the Bridge Project as part of the Orchestra’s Bright Sparks concert series for schools.
Jennifer Pike commented:
‘I have been privileged to have been part of the London Music Masters scheme for the last three years. It has helped broaden my perspectives as a performer…and given me the unique opportunity to become involved with the musical development of young children as part of the visionary Bridge Project.’
London Music Masters
London Music Masters, a registered charity, has created two main strands for its activities - the LMM Awards and the Bridge Project. The charity’s aim is to complete the cycle from early inspiration to life-long aspiration - inspiring primary school children and assisting emerging professional musicians. One of LMM’s primary goals is to address the under-representation of ethnic and socio-economic diversity amongst musicians in professional music ensembles.
As LMM Founder and Chief Executive Victoria Sharp explains:
“Classical music needs powerful advocates who can communicate a passion, whether on the stage or beyond. It is not only about captivating a concert audience but also about inspiring those in the wider community - particularly the next generation of emerging musicians and potential new concertgoers. For this reason, the winners of the LMM Awards were also chosen based on their potential and enthusiasm for working as role models at a grass roots level within schools."
LMM has created partnerships with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal College of Music, Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall and Sphinx Organization in the US. LMM is funded by private donations, trusts and foundations.
For further information, please contact
LMM Award Holders 2012-15
American violinist Benjamin Beilman is rapidly gaining attention for his ‘impeccable’ playing and ‘eloquence and flair’ (MusicalAmerica.com). In May he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant, worth $25,000. In 2010 he was first-prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and Montreal International Music Competition and won the bronze medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. He was also awarded the Helen Armstrong Violin Fellowship and three performance prizes. Also in 2010, he released his debut recording of the Prokofiev complete sonatas for violin and piano on Analekta.
Recent and upcoming appearances include a solo performance with L’Orchestre Métropolitain de Quebec under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, recitals with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, the Montréal Bach Festival and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Beilman is also a passionate advocate of contemporary music and has given many debut performances, including Jennifer Higdon’s Violin Concerto with the South Dakota and Glens Falls Symphony orchestras.
An avid chamber musician, Beilman joins Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society Two Roster in the 2012-13 season.
‘…A poised and monstrously talented 20-year-old violinist….’
– Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia
20-year-old Korean violinist Hyeyoon Park has received many prizes and awards. At just 17, she was the youngest ever winner of the 2009 ARD International Music Competition in Munich and in 2011, she received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.
Hyeyoon made her orchestra debut at the age of nine with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. Since then, she has performed with many leading orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Weimar, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, and has recently toured with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and Sir Roger Norrington in Japan.
Recent and upcoming concert appearances include performances with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.
‘Hyeyoon Park is a wonderful young violinist. Fearsome technique, engaging natural musicianship, charming personality.’ – Sir Roger Norrington, Conductor
22-year-old French violinist Alexandra Soumm has appeared with many leading orchestras in the United Kingdom and Europe. She is currently a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and has performed with many of the BBC orchestras including a recent performance of Glazunov Violin Concerto with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Alexander Lazarev. In France, she has appeared as soloist with Orchestre National de Lyon and Michel Plasson, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse with Tugan Sokhiev, the Orchestre National de Montpellier with Juraj Valcuha, the Orchestre National d'Ile de France with Enrique Mazzola, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice with Frédéric Lodéon and the Orchestre de Paris with Neeme Järvi.
She has upcoming engagements as soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Zurich Chamber Orchestra. This year Alexandra will also return to the Verbier and Gstaad Festivals.
Soumm plays on a Giovanni Baptista Guadagnini violin (Turin, c.1785) known as the ‘ex-Kavakos’. The loan of the instrument by a benefactor is part of the London Music Masters Awards and has kindly been arranged through Florian Leonhard Fine Violins, London.
‘youth and vitality pour forth from these delicious recordings…by violinist Alexandra Soumm’ – The Strad
London Music Masters Awards
The LMM Awards are given every three years to three outstanding violinists from across the globe, between the ages of 16 and 25. The Awards are career-development programmes, which assist exceptionally talented young musicians to further their international careers while serving as positive role models, reaching new audiences and enriching their communities. In addition to performances in leading concert halls and festivals, the programme enables these talented young violinists to work with contemporary composers and to receive mentoring from members of the performing arts, the music industry and LMM advisors.
Benefits of the programme include:
• Financial award of £10,000 to enhance their musical development
• Individual recitals at Wigmore Hall
• Concerto performances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall
• Premiering new works by leading contemporary composers commissioned by London Music Masters
Agata Szymczewska, 2009-2012 LMM Award Holder, made her London concerto debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and renowned conductor Osmo Vänskä in October 2010 as part of her LMM Award She was also given the opportunity to work with Royal Philharmonic Society Award-winning composer Martin Suckling, whose new violin concerto, de sol y grana, she premiered at the Spitalfields Music Winter Festival in December 2011. Agata’s second performance of this new work followed in May 2012 with Southbank Sinfonia at St John’s, Waterloo.
Agata Szymczewska explained:
‘What inspired me the most was having the opportunity to engage with and immerse myself in a great variety of high-quality art and musical experiences… which has had an incredibly strong impact on my musical life.’
A key element of the LMM Award Holders’ role is a commitment to inspire and mentor school children, conveying their enthusiasm for classical music and acting as role models. , Each violinist attends the three primary schools in Lambeth and Westminster taking part in LMM’s renowned educational initiative, the Bridge Project, currently working with children aged between 4 and 9 years. These opportunities are hugely rewarding for the young professionals, the schools and the children.
Jennifer Pike, 2009-2012 LMM Award Holder, had the opportunity to work with Royal Philharmonic Society Award-winning composer Charlotte Bray, creating a new work performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and children from the Bridge Project as part of the Orchestra’s Bright Sparks concert series for schools.
Jennifer Pike commented:
‘I have been privileged to have been part of the London Music Masters scheme for the last three years. It has helped broaden my perspectives as a performer…and given me the unique opportunity to become involved with the musical development of young children as part of the visionary Bridge Project.’
London Music Masters
London Music Masters, a registered charity, has created two main strands for its activities - the LMM Awards and the Bridge Project. The charity’s aim is to complete the cycle from early inspiration to life-long aspiration - inspiring primary school children and assisting emerging professional musicians. One of LMM’s primary goals is to address the under-representation of ethnic and socio-economic diversity amongst musicians in professional music ensembles.
As LMM Founder and Chief Executive Victoria Sharp explains:
“Classical music needs powerful advocates who can communicate a passion, whether on the stage or beyond. It is not only about captivating a concert audience but also about inspiring those in the wider community - particularly the next generation of emerging musicians and potential new concertgoers. For this reason, the winners of the LMM Awards were also chosen based on their potential and enthusiasm for working as role models at a grass roots level within schools."
LMM has created partnerships with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal College of Music, Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall and Sphinx Organization in the US. LMM is funded by private donations, trusts and foundations.
For further information, please contact
Nicky Thomas Media Consultancy
info@nickythomasmedia.com | 020 7207 7810 | www.nickythomasmedia.com
info@nickythomasmedia.com | 020 7207 7810 | www.nickythomasmedia.com