ORCHESTRA and OPERA finalists for The American Prize

The American Prize is pleased to announce orchestras advanced to the final round of The American Prize in Orchestral Performance for 2011. Congratulations! To know the exact date and time when winners will be announced, please subscribe to our Facebook or Twitter pages.

Finalist choruses will be announced Saturday at 4 pm; conductors Monday at 4. 

Maestro David Katz, chief judge of The American Prize, provided this perspective: "Selecting the finalist orchestras was not difficult for us this year. Despite differences in the size of the ensembles, the musical approach of the conductors, and, of course, the repertoire, there is no doubt that each of the semi-finalists was of a quality to be further adjudicated by the judges; each is obviously worthy of additional scrutiny..."

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The American Prize in Orchestral Performance, 2011
FINALISTS (in no order)







Professional Orchestra
Edison Symphony, Judith Morse, music director, Metuchen, NJ
Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov, Liszt, Ravel

Western Piedmont Symphony, John Gordon Ross, music director and conductor, Hickory, NC
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4, Weber, Warshauer

Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Peter Rubardt, music director, Pensacola, FL
Holst from The Planets, Ives, Tower, Dvorak, Beethoven

Community Orchestra
The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, Robert Butts, conductor, Rockaway, NJ
Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Monteverdi 

Central Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Michael Avagliano, music director, Metuchen, NJ
Haydn, Beethoven, Arriaga, Sibelius

Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, David Bernard, conductor, New York, NY
Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2

College/University Orchestra
Pacific (University) Philharmonic, Bryce Seliger, Director of Orchestral Activities, Forest Grove, OR
Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Ravel

Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, Jeffery Meyer, conductor, Ithaca, NY
Brahms, Rossini, Shostakovich

The Mannes Orchestra, Taeyoung Lee, conductor, New York, NY
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5  

University of Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Pu-Qi Jiang, director, Memphis, TN
Mahler Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection"  

Cornell Symphony Orchestra, Chris Younghoon Kim, conductor, Ithaca, NY
Ravel Daphnis & Chloe Suite No. 2  

University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Kiesler, conductor, Ann Arbor, MI
Mahler Symphony No. 6

Youth Orchestra
Houston Youth Symphony, Michael Webster, conductor, Houston, TX
Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet  

Vivace of Stringendo Orchestra School, Jon Handman, conductor, LaGrangeville, NY
Diamond, Elgar, Mozart, Suk

YPO Philharmonic String Orchestra and Soloist Ensemble, Alyze Dreiling, conductor and artistic director, San Diego, CA
Bartok Six Dances, Divertimento, Bridge Suite

Secondary or High School Orchestra
Horace Mann String Sinfonietta, Darin Lewis, conductor, Bronx, NY
Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Barber

Arlington High School Philharmonia, Jon Handman, conductor, LaGrangeville, NY
Dvorak, music from Chicago, Chronicle of Narnia 

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The American Prize is also pleased to announce ensembles who have advanced to the final round in its new competition in Opera Performance. Congratulations! To know the exact date and time when finalists will be announced, please subscribe to our Facebook or Twitter pages.

Maestro Katz: "Excellent performances, wonderful repertoire." 

The American Prize in Opera Performance, 2011

FINALISTS (in no order)







The Crane Opera Ensemble, Crane School of Music (SUNY), Kirk Severtson, conductor, Potsdam, NY
Ravel: L'enfant et les sortileges 

Boston Opera Collaborative, Michael Sakir, music director/conductor, Boston, MA
Adamo: Little Women  

Lowell House Opera, Channing Yu, conductor, Cambridge, MA
Puccini: Tosca  

Astoria Music Festival Opera, Keith Clark, artistic director and conductor, Portland, OR
Berg: Wozzeck