Aldeburgh American Scholarships
Benjamin Britten was inspired by the vast skies and moody seas of the Suffolk coast of eastern England and in 1948 he founded the Aldeburgh Festival, along with the singer Peter Pears and writer Eric Crozier. Long before arts organisations thought of developing young musicians, Britten and Pears brought international stars, including Aaron Copland, André Previn and Mstislav Rostropovich, together with young stars in the making, such as Sir Simon Rattle, Jessye Norman, Julian Bream and more recently the likes of Ian Bostridge and Simon Keenlyside. In 1972, they established the Britten–Pears Young Artist Programme, the UK's first - and now its largest - centre for talented young musicians.
Aldeburgh Music is already world famous as an outstanding year-round performance centre, where artists can at all stages of their career explore new ground and be inspired to raise their game. The natural environment, the strong composing tradition, the facilities and the high quality of the artists and teachers combine to make an unparalleled environment for achieving musical excellence.
Now we are taking the next leap forward in our development, greatly expanding our rehearsal and performance facilities, to create a centre that will enrich the musical landscape for generations to come. Thanks to the prospect of a major challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation of America, reflecting our strong artistic ties with the US, we are confident that the funding for the $25 million capital program will soon be completed. More importantly, we are now turning our minds to artistic expansion and, for example, have developed a reciprocal agreement with the Tanglewood Music Festival that allows their young artists the opportunity to perform here.
Aldeburgh American Scholarships
Building on the Aldeburgh/US historical links and to further our aim of attracting the top talent world-wide, we are launching Aldeburgh American Scholarships. These scholarships will give the best young US artists a unique opportunity to add an international dimension to their education by taking advantage of all that Aldeburgh Music offers. Until now, we have supported from the UK some 25 US students a year to visit, but we want to increase this number to 50. To do that, we need your generous support. It costs $5,000 per student to attend our courses. A single payment of $100,000 would secure an endowed scholarship for future US artists.
What does it mean for the scholars?
The Scholarships will give American participants the chance to come to Aldeburgh for 7-10 days, study with the experts in their fields and have the freedom and support to break new ground. There are many ways for US talent to take advantage of all that Aldeburgh can offer including the Britten–Pears Young Artist Programme, Residencies and composition opportunities in new opera and ensemble works.
Our unique and innovative work allows young artists to:
· have a creative study period with masterclasses and concerts led
by top professional musicians, which in recent years have included Joan Sutherland,
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Sir Thomas Allen, Sergei Leiferkus, Oliver Knussen
and the Alban Berg Quartet;
· appear on the international concert stage - this year, the Britten–Pears
Orchestra (including 10 American artists) opened our 60th Festival with an
acclaimed performance of Britten's Death in Venice;
· have a week of concentrated rehearsal and exploration.
As a US charitable organisation, registered as the Aldeburgh Festival Association, we offer American taxpayers the chance to support the Aldeburgh American Scholarship scheme and play a personal role in developing the best musical talent. You will receive news direct from the young artist through their performance diaries, blogs and personal correspondence. The scholarships can be named - in which case, credit will be given in our programs and website.
Click here for a PDF containing further details about making a donation.
Contact
If you would like more information on the Aldeburgh American Scholarships, please email Megan Peel on mpeel@aldeburgh.co.uk.
Aldeburgh Music is supported in the USA through the Aldeburgh Festival Association and recognised by the US Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organisation. Our US Tax Identifying number is 98-6005179.