MARIJOSIUS AWARD, 2024: finalists

Vytautas Marijosiu

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David Volosin Katz, founder and chief judge, is honored to announce 2024 FINALIST conductors in orchestral programming, The Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award. Congratulations!

As the contests unfold, runners-up and winners will be selected from this list. To know the exact date when winners will be announced, please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter #AmericanPrize, where that information will be published first. 

All contestants are reminded they are responsible for the viability of their online links to audition materials. Those links must remain active until the end of the contest year. Questions, or to make us aware of any misprints in the listings below, please email: theamericanprize@gmail.com 

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. 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 deadlines in May and July. (http://theamericanprize.org)

At The American Prize there is never a preset number of finalists in any division—finalists are those artists who are judged to be worthy of additional consideration and evaluation. Contestants, therefore, do not compete against each other, but in reference to judges' perceived impression of an artistic ideal.

We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on their facebook page, tweeting the news, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. A sample announcement may be found at the end of the post.

NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award (professional division), 2024

Kelly Kuo 

Cincinnati OH

Reno Chamber Orchestra 

Zach Nicely 

Weehawken NJ

Press Start Orchestra 

Matthew Wardell 

Ocala FL

Ocala Symphony Orchestra

NATIONAL FINALISTS: The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award (non-professional division), 2024

Tigran Arakelyan 

Puyallup WA 

Port Townsend Symphony

Tigran Arakelyan 

Puyallup WA 

Bainbridge Island Youth Orchestra

Robert W. Boardman 

Ann Arbor MI 

South Bend Youth Symphony Orchestras

John B. Gordon 

Round Rock TX 

Williamson County Symphonic Orchestra

Diego Hernandez 

Evanston IL

The Googler Orchestra

Rebecca Nederhiser 

Waverly IA 

Wartburg Community Symphony

David A. Rahbee 

Seattle WA 

University of Washington Symphony Orchestra

Jamie Wind Whitmarsh 

Oklahoma City OK 

Oklahoma Composer’s Orchestra

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We invite finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on social media, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. 

Here is a sample announcement:

"Great News! I've just been selected as a finalist in the (blank) division of The American Prize National Non-profit Competitions in the Performing Arts. Here's the link: (copy link here). The American Prize will be announcing winners in my division soon. You can learn more about this prestigious national competition here: www.theamericanprize.org or follow the news on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-American-Prize-celebrating-American-excellence-in-the-arts/214320622728 or Twitter: https://twitter.com/americanprize "

Please feel free to modify or expand this announcement to suit your needs.

Congratulations to all finalists.