At 6 pm on Wednesday, March 15, watch the the announcement of the 2017 Avery Fisher Career Grants live from The Greene Space at WQXR. The ceremony, hosted by WQXR's Elliott Forrest, features performances by this year's honorees who have been selected for their potential to have great careers as instrumentalists. Previous winners have included pianist Yuja Wang, clarinetist Anthony McGill, violinist Hilary Hahn and the Escher Quartet.
Joseph W. Polisi, chairman of the Avery Fisher Artist Program and president of The Juilliard School, and members of the Fisher family will be on hand to deliver the awards. In addition to the live webcast, listeners will be able to hear a radio broadcast of the ceremony on WQXR at 9 pm on Monday, April 24.
About the Avery Fisher Artist Program and Career Grants
Established by the late Avery Fisher as part of a major gift to Lincoln Center in 1974, the Artist Program serves as a monument to Mr. Fisher’s philanthropy and love of music. The Career Grants in particular exemplify his devotion to helping young artists and embody his philosophy to give back to the world what music had given to him. The Program continues to provide recognition in two categories, the Career Grants and the Prize, to outstanding instrumentalists and chamber ensembles who must be U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents.
Avery Fisher Career Grants of the Avery Fisher Artist Program are designed to give professional assistance and recognition to talented instrumentalists, as well as chamber ensembles, who the Recommendation Board and Executive Committee of the Avery Fisher Artist Program believe to have great potential for major careers. Each recipient receives an award of $25,000, to be used for specific needs in furthering a career. Additionally, their performances are professionally recorded for the recipients’ unrestricted use, posted on the Program’s website, broadcast and webstreamed by WQXR and used by WNET Thirteen’s NYC-ARTS. An added element newly introduced this year is a custom designed blue and gold rosette given to each recipient as a physical symbol of the Career Grant award. Up to five Avery Fisher Career Grants may be given each year. Recipients are nominated by the Program's Recommendation Board, made up of nationally known instrumentalists, conductors, composers, music educators, managers and presenters. Final selections are made by the Program’s Executive Committee.
