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| Vytautas Marijosius |
The American Prize—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming honors the memory of the great Lithuanian conductor, Maestro Vytautas Marijosius, music director of the Lithuanian State Opera, and for nearly thirty-five years Director of Orchestral Activities at the Hartt School of Music of the University of Hartford. The Prize recognizes and rewards the best achievement in the unique field of orchestral programming, where the selection of repertoire by knowledgeable, creative and courageous music directors builds orchestras and audiences, educates young people and adults, and enriches the community.
The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation's most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the United States at professional, college/university, community and high school levels, based on submitted recordings. Now in its fourteenth year, The American Prize was founded in 2010 and is awarded annually in many areas of the performing arts. Thousands of artists from all fifty states have derived benefit from their participation in the contests of The American Prize, representing literally hundreds of communities and arts organizations across the nation. Information about the 2024-25 season of contests is now available and applications are being accepted, with extended deadlines in September and October. (http://theamericanprize.org)
Matthew Wardell is a conductor known for his charisma, versatility, and ability to captivate audiences with joy and presence. He is the Music Director of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, recently hailed by Grammy-winning composer Michael Daugherty as "the hardest working orchestra in Florida." With a focus on underrepresented and living composers, he has conducted more than 400 works with the OSO, ranging from core orchestral repertoire to pops concerts and film and multimedia works. From the pit, Wardell has led 16 staged productions of large-scale opera, musical theatre, and ballet works. Additionally Matthew has served as a visiting lecturer, guest artist, and adjunct faculty member at various universities and colleges and is currently the Interim Director of Orchestral Studies at Mount Holyoke College.
Praised as “a leader of exceptional musical gifts, who has a clear technique on the podium and an impressive rapport with audiences,” Kelly Kuo brings a dynamic versatility and nuance to a diverse operatic and symphonic repertoire. Currently Music Director of the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Artistic Director and Conductor of Oregon Mozart Players and Associate Artistic Director of American Lyric Theater, he has consistently demonstrated a commitment to bold programming and creative initiatives. His engagements have included productions with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera, and performances with the Memphis Symphony, Malta Philharmonic, Olympia Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and Ballet Fantastique. An Oregon native and recipient of a Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistant Award, Kuo continues to concertize as the only pianist to have studied with two pupils of the Russian virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz.
Zach Nicely is stamping his name in the classical music industry as “the video game music conductor.” He is frequently called as a guest conductor and game music lecturer by ensembles, universities, and high schools across the country. He was the founding Artistic Director of Press Start Orchestra and established the Mannes Prep Game Orchestra. At home with both multimedia and scores born for the stage, Zach has conducted orchestras across the United States and Japan. He has served as Assistant Conductor with the Litha Symphony Orchestra and Music Director with Killer Queen Opera in New York City. Zach has appeared as a guest conductor with the Orchestra Conducting Symposium at University of Colorado Boulder and the Tokyo Sinfonia. Zach was awarded Western Michigan University’s Signature Designation in Leadership for The Smash Experiment, featuring an orchestra playing video game scores in real time as audiences played the games themselves.
Robert W. Boardman is now in his thirteenth year as Music Director of the South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras, winning 1st place in the American Prize for Orchestral Programming (2018, 2015), commissioning and premiering Jorge Muniz' "Motown Dreams" for saxophonist Timothy McAllister. Boardman tours internationally as a conductor for Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings Symphony with CAMI Music, and for six years he served as frequent cover conductor for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Having achieved the DMA of Orchestral Conducting at the University of Michigan, his principal conducting teachers were Kenneth Kiesler, Marin Alsop, Larry Rachleff, Gustav Meier, and Lawrence Golan.
David Alexander Rahbee is currently Senior Artist in Residence at the University of Washington School of Music in Seattle, where he is Director of Orchestral Activities and is chair of orchestral conducting studies. He is recipient of the American-Austrian Foundation's 2003 Karajan Fellowship for Young Conductors, the 2005 International Richard-Wagner-Verband Stipend, and the Acanthes Centre in Paris in 2007. He has recently worked with the Seattle Symphony, the Chattanooga Symphony, Orchesterakademie der Bochumer Symphoniker, the Seattle Modern Orchestra, National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, and the Guernsey Symphony Orchestra. He participated in masterclasses with Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis, Jorma Panula, Zdeněk Mácal, Peter Eötvös, and Zoltán Peskó. His principal conducting teachers were Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo at the Monteux School. He holds degrees from Indiana University, New England Conservatory, and University of Montreal. He also studied at Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna.
The Wartburg Community Symphony traces its beginning to 1952, when Ernest Hagen, a young Wartburg College music professor, organized an orchestra comprised of 38 community members and 16 college musicians. Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the WCS has given Waverly bragging rights as one of the smallest American cities hosting an orchestra belonging to the League of American Orchestras. Led by Dr. Rebecca Nederhiser, the symphony has broadened its community outreach through youth summer camps, festivals, and an annual Young People’s Concert. Programs have involved innovative programming and community collaborations. This year, Nederhiser organized a 130-voice choir comprised of local choirs for Handel’s Messiah, an art competition to project winning images for Respighi’s Gli uccelli, and commissioned the world premiere of Jocelyn Hagen’s Messages from Everywhere. To the symphony’s knowledge this work was the first to involve a simultaneous combination of AI generated movie, choir, and surround sound.
Armenian-American conductor Tigran Arakelyan is the Music Director of Northwest Mahler Festival, Port Townsend Symphony and Tacoma Music Collaborative. Previously, he held conducting positions with the California Philharmonic and Los Angeles Youth Orchestra. Tigran played alongside Sir James Galway during Galway's induction into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. 425 Business named Tigran in the 40 under 40 for 2023. Tigran conducted regional premieres by renowned composers Paul Hindemith, Keith Jarrett, Jovino Santos Neto, and James Cohn. As Music Director of Federal Way Youth and Bainbridge Youth Orchestras; the organizations reached their highest enrollment and added multiple ensembles. Tigran holds a DMA from the University of Washington. He is the Executive Director of Music Works Northwest. As a radio and podcast host, he interviewed Evelyn Glennie, George Walker, Mark O'Connor, Christian McBride, David Harrington, JoAnn Falletta, Richard Stoltzman, Sharon Isbin, Vijay Iyer, among others. www.TigranArakelyan.com
As the flagship ensemble of the Oklahoma Modern Music Collective, The Oklahoma Composer’s Orchestra is a primarily volunteer ensemble dedicated to championing music by living composers. the OkCO has perfomed thirty-nine works across ten programs, including sixteen world premieres and one open-workshop of Bob Singleton’s sensory-friendly family program “The Unicorn’s Birthday” (commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and co-commissioned by the Savannah Philharmonic and the Oklahoma Modern Music Collective). OkcO concerts are under an hour, and are preceded by a “Behind-the-Scenes” presentation to help audiences members develop a relationship with the music and the composers involved on the program prior to experience the concert, and followed by a “Mingle” where audience members, composers, and performers congregate to foster and celebrate community centered around new music. OkCO has featured solo performances from pianist Tammy Miller, the H2 Saxophone Quartet, clarinetists Lisa Kachouee, the Doursey Duo, and the Great Plains Percussion Group.
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Congratulations!
The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award (professional division), 2024
The American Prize winner:
Matthew Wardell
Ocala FL
Ocala Symphony Orchestra
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| Matthew Wardell |
2nd Place:
Kelly Kuo
Cincinnati OH
Reno Chamber Orchestra
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| Kelly Kuo |
3rd Place:
Zach Nicely
Weehawken NJ
Press Start Orchestra
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| Zach Nicely |
The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award (non-professional division), 2024
The American Prize winner:
Robert W. Boardman
Ann Arbor MI
South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras
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| Robert W. Boardman |
2nd Place:
David A. Rahbee
Seattle WA
University of Washington Symphony Orchestra
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| David A. Rahbee |
3rd Place:
Rebecca Nederhiser
Waverly IA
Wartburg Community Symphony
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| Wartburg Community Symphony |
Finalist Honorable Mention:
Tigran Arakelyan
Puyallup WA
Port Townsend Symphony
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| Tigran Arakelyan |
Finalist Honorable Mention:
Jamie Wind Whitmarsh
Oklahoma City OK
Oklahoma Composer’s Orchestra
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| Oklahoma Composer’s Orchestra |
Congratulations!
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