Alexis Gregory Foundation.

The New School’s College of Performing Arts is thrilled to announce a new partnership with the Alexis Gregory Foundation. Following a grant made by the foundation, the Mannes School of Music will manage, host and present the Vendome Prize piano competition. “Piano has been vital  to me since I was a child:  Vendome established successful partnerships with the xx The purpose of the Vendome Prize is to seek out, reward, support, and guide future professional artists who are technically perfect, magnetic, original, ambitious, in possession of a large repertoire and ready to undertake the challenges of a performing career. The prize has built an enviable reputation of    bringing it to the attention of the music world. we have been able to conclude a collaboration between the foundation and The Mannes School of Music to jointly produce elighted to be able to enter into collaboration with one of the world’s great schools of music. It is our fondest hope that this collaboration, under the direction of Matei Varga, will take this renowned competition to new heights.” Many of the pianists who first triumphed at the Vendome have gone on to win major awards and now have resonant international careers: Boris Giltburg and Denis Kozhukhin (1st prize winners at the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in Brussels), Mannes alumnus Yekwon Sunwoo (Gold Medal at The Cliburn), Stephen Beus (Gold Medal at Gina Bachauer), George Li (Silver Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow), Dmytro Choni (current Bronze Medal at The Cliburn) and most recently the 2022 Vendome co-winner Maxim Lando (Gilmore Young Artist Award). The Vendome jury has included leading musicians such as Byron Janis, Philippe Entremont, Marin Alsop, Stephen Kovacevich, Joan Sutherland, Elisabeth Leonskaja, and Joaquin Achucarro. Jeffrey Tate was Chairman of the competition from its inauguration until his death in 2017, after which the position went to British pianist Gordon Back. It has been described by Le Figaro as “the world’s most prestigious competition”.    Pianist Matei Varga, who has been associated with Vendome for 14 years, will serve as Artistic Director of the prize for the five-year period. Mr. Varga, himself an alumnus of Mannes, is a celebrated performer and recording artist who has been described by the international press as “the greatest young Romanian pianist before the public today”. He has won two special awards at earlier Vendome editions (2003 and 2006), alongside top honors at the “George Enescu” and “Maria Canals” piano competitions in Europe. Since 2008, Mr. Varga worked closely with Alexis Gregory, ensuring that Vendome continued and developed in the spirit in which it was created. “Alex dedicated much of his life and energy to discovering exceptionally talented young pianists. He followed their careers and offered individual help and guidance to many who competed for the Vendome Prize. We are happy to continue the prize for hopefully many years to come, and I know that this would make Alex very, very happy”, said Mr. Varga. Vendome is a recommendation-based only competition. Each year its Advisory Board submits their recommendations of outstanding young pianists whom they believe to be at the highest level of excellence in this field. The current Advisory Board includes 45 names, among them Sergei Babayan, Pavlina Dokovska, Ilana Vered, Christopher Elton, Martin Engstroem, Robert McDonald, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, and Constantine Orbelian.

 

The College of Performing Arts at The New School - Mannes, Jazz, Drama (MJD) was formed in 2015 and draws together the Mannes School of Music, the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and the School of Drama. With each school contributing its unique culture of creative excellence, the College of Performing Arts is a hub for cross-disciplinary collaboration, bold experimentation, innovative education, and world-class performances. The 1000 students at MJD are actors, performers, writers, improvisers, creative technologists, entrepreneurs, composers, arts managers, and multidisciplinary artists who believe in the transformative power of the arts for all people. Students and faculty at MJD collaborate with colleagues across The New School in a wide array of disciplines, from the visual arts and fashion design, to the social sciences, public policy, advocacy, and more.  The curriculum at MJD is dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the changing arts and culture landscape. New degrees and coursework, like the new graduate degrees for Performer-Composers and Artist Entrepreneurs are designed to challenge highly skilled artists to experiment, innovate, and engage with the past, present, and future of their artforms. New York City’s Greenwich Village provides the backdrop for the College of Performing Arts, which is housed at Arnhold Hall on West 13th Street and the historic Westbeth Artists Community on Bank Street.