Evanston, IL – Solti Foundation U.S. Board Chair Penny Van Horn and Elizabeth Buccheri, Artistic and Awards Committee Chair, today announced remotely from their respective homes the young American conductors who have been selected as 2021 recipients of The Sir Georg Solti Career Assistance Award.
“The 2020-21 season has been a time of joy and sadness. Our Foundation has lost a shining light, Lady Valerie Solti, who passed away earlier this season. Her commitment to her late husband’s legacy and joy in helping up and coming musicians in the conducting world made our Foundation a reality. We celebrate her and Sir Georg’s lives as we announce fifteen Solti Career Assistance Awards,” stated Ms. Van Horn.
“We look forward to the return of live music,” said Ms. Buccheri. “Today’s recipients are a part of keeping music alive, and we look forward to observing their growth.”
Receiving a 2021 Career Assistance Award (in alphabetical order) are conductors:
Nathaniel Efthimiou, founding Music Director of Orchestra Contempo, Assistant Conductor, Boston Civic Symphony, Assistant Director of Music at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and acting Assistant Conductor, Rhode Island Philharmonic; Kevin Fitzgerald, Assistant Conductor of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Alabama Symphony Youth Orchestra, he is also the founder of the Michigan-based contemporary music ensemble ÆPEX Contemporary Performance; Taichi Fukumura, newly appointed Fellow and Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Summer Opera in 2021, Director of Orchestras, Merit School of Music,and Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Northwestern Medical Orchestra; Lina Gonzalez-Granados, Solti Conducting Apprentice, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Conducting Fellow with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony; Keitaro Harada, Music & Artistic Director of the Savannah Philharmonic and Associate Conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra; Jonathon Heyward, Chief Conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie; Roberto Kalb, international guest conductor; Roger Kalia, Music Director, Evansville Philharmonic, Symphony NH, Orchestra Santa Monica, and the Lake George Music Festival; Earl Lee, Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Lee Mills, Associate Conductor of the Seattle Symphony; Vinay Parameswaran, Associate Conductor, The Cleveland Orchestra,and Music Director, the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra; Michael Repper, Music Director, New York Youth Symphony and Northern Neck Orchestra of Virginia; Stefano Sarzani, international guest conductor; Kensho Watanabe, international guest conductor; Lidiya Yankovskaya, Music Director, Chicago Opera Theater.