By
James Ginsburg
Guest
Columnist
Chicago,
IL, USA
Coming
up on the 30th anniversary of Cedille Records, we paused to reflect
on how our mission has grown from recording and releasing the music of Chicago’s
finest classical artists to also actively promoting careers. I thought about
soloists like violinists Jennifer Koh and Rachel Barton Pine and ensembles such
as Eighth Blackbird and Pacifica Quartet. Cedille is honored to have promoted
these extraordinary artists from the start of their award-winning careers.
Scores of artists have made their debut on Cedille Records, and we become
personally invested in each of those artists and their music.
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| James Ginsburg in the Studio |
Inspired
by this reflection, I am pleased to announce the creation of a new Emerging
Artist Competition to help celebrate our 30th year of identifying and elevating
the careers of Chicago artists. The Emerging Artist Competition will be open to
individual musicians and ensembles of up to six people that reside in or hail
from the Chicago metro area. The winner will record and release an album on
Cedille Records.
I
founded Cedille Records in 1989 with the vision of making distinctive classical
recordings featuring excellent Chicago-area musicians. Cedille filled an
important niche as the only Chicago-based classical record label, and to this
day continues to fulfill its mission of recording original programs developed
by artists with enlightening and distinctive interpretations. Cedille’s artists
and albums are regularly honored with the highest accolades, including GRAMMY®
awards.
The
eventual winner of the Emerging Artist Competition will join an impressive
roster of artists that includes Jennifer Koh, Rachel Barton Pine, Eighth
Blackbird, the Dover Quartet, Third Coast Percussion, and Anthony McGill.
Violist Matthew Lipman, whose debut album came out in February, is a recent
example of a Cedille artist in the beginning of a career.
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| Jennifer Koh |
Taking
note of this immensely talented Cedille roster, we decided to open a
competition to pick the next Cedille young artist whose career we can promote
from the start.
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| Matthew Lipman - Ascent |
The
application for the Emerging Artist Competition officially became available on
February 15, 2019, and the deadline for application submissions is August 1,
2019. Individual performers and ensembles (sextet or smaller) who have not
appeared as the featured performer on another commercially-released CD are eligible
to apply; the competition is not open to composers or conductors. The maximum
age limit for individual performers is 35-years-old as of the application open
date. For ensembles, the average age of ensemble members should not exceed 35
and no individual player may exceed 40 years of age. There is no minimum age
limit. All individual performers and at least 50% of ensemble players must
reside in or come from the Chicago metro area (defined as the following
counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will). No individual may
appear on more than one application; for example, if applying as a soloist, an
individual may not also apply as a member of an ensemble.
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| Rachel Barton Pine |
To
apply for the Emerging Artist Competition, artists must submit a resume; a
written goal statement, including an explanation of their connection to
Chicago; a list of any commercially-released recordings on which they have
participated (not as the featured performer); a concept and suggested
repertoire for an album; and unedited video of the artist(s) performing two
contrasting pieces, which need not be the same as the repertoire prepared for
later rounds of the competition or the album concept.
After
applications are screened by a panel of Cedille Records board members, the
competition semi-finals and finals will take place as live concerts over
concurrent days in Chicago in May 2020. The concerts will be open to the
public. Semi-finals will include up to 10 contestants, who will prepare an hour
of music from which judges will select 15 minutes to be performed. The final
round will include up to five contestants playing 30 minutes of music total,
including two contrasting works, selected by the contestants themselves.
Semi-final and final performances will be judged by a panel of five judges, to
be named at a later date, comprising prominent musicians and industry
professionals.
It
is an important moment for the Cedille label. We are excited to launch this new
initiative to welcome another amazing Chicago artist to the roster.
Link:
______________________________
James Ginsburg is the Founder, President
and Producer of Cedille Records.