JUNE 25, 2012: MENDELSSOHN FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCED IN KOREA

At a press conference at Seoul’s beautiful Namsan Hyatt Hotel, Jeehyun Kim, Executive Director of the Chamber Music Today festival, announced the inauguration of the Mendelssohn Fellowship.  The program, which identifies and awards a young Korean musician a two-year budget to promote chamber music in Korea, is artistic directed by David Finckel and assisted by an international advisory committee.

The official language describing the program, taken from the Mendelssohn Fellowship announcement flier, is excerpted here:

The Mendelssohn Fellowship will support the efforts of a highly accomplished and motivated young Korean musician to further the art of chamber music in Korea over a two-year period. The Fellowship provides an artistic budget of $20,000, and is open to performers between the ages of 18 and 33 who are committed to professional careers in music. Projects and uses of the Fellowship funds might include: Presenting of chamber music performances; educational programs and outreach events; fees for collaborating musicians, educators; media initiatives, such as web sites,
live streaming or distance teaching; music industry and/or education conferences; consultation expenses; and promotional costs.

The Fellowship is named after the 19th-century composer Felix Mendelssohn, who greatly expanded the understanding and appreciation of music in his day. 

The Fellowship’s 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, LG Corporation
Tong Soo Chung  Senior Foreign Counsel, Yulchon LLC
Lawrence Dutton  Violist, Emerson String Quartet; Professor, Viola and Chamber Music, Stony Brook University,
The Manhattan School of Music, Mercer University
Ruth Eliel  Executive Director, the Colburn Foundation, Los Angeles
Soovin Kim  Professor of Violin, Stony Brook University
Sunghyun Kim  CFO, LGU+
Sangjin Kim  Violist, MIK Ensemble; Professor of Viola, Yonsei University
Kristin Lee  Violinist, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Sean Lee  Violinist, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
The 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

Attending the event were some 30 people: prospective candidates, Korean music teachers, and members of the press, including correspondents from the Chosun Daily, the Tongah Daily, and the Maekyung Economic Daily.

David, assisted by Jeehyun Kim, spoke for 20 minutes about his own introduction to chamber music as a young student, and described the challenges facing young chamber music players and the classical music industry in general.  The Mendelssohn Fellowship is designed to address these challenges and to take advantage of the growing enthusiasm for chamber music in Korea.

Prior to the press conference, David and Wu Han interviewed privately with the distinguished author and arts correspondent Sunghyun Kim.

The event was also attended by two distinguished members of the advisory committee: T. S. Chung of the Yulchon law firm, and Sunghyun Kim, CFO of the LG U+ corporation.

The winner of the first award will be announced at the final concert of the second Chamber Music Today festival, on December 10^th, 2012, in Seoul.

Providing enormous additional excitement to the duo’s two-day visit to Korea was the wedding of cellist Dmitri Atapine to pianist Hyeyeon Park, Music@Menlo International Performers Program alumni and now on the faculty of the Chamber Music Institute.