Calidore String Quartet has won the world’s biggest classical music prize, taking home USD100,000 (€89,160). The M-Prize, set up in October 2015, is the single biggest payday in the world of classical music competitions and the New York City quartet beat off 29 fellow competitors, in what was also the most applied-for competition of its kind.
‘The Calidore String Quartet is a perfect example of the extraordinary talent that we seek to showcase with this competition,’ said dean of the UofM School of Music, Theatre & Dance Aaron Dworkin. ‘We are thrilled with this inaugural year and we are confident that it will develop audiences and awareness for this genre, which has the potential to play such a vital role in the careers of today’s performing artists.’
No stranger to success, the group has already won first place at the Fischoff, Coleman, Chesapeake and Yellow Springs music competitions. They are recipients of the Borletti-Butoni Trust Fellowship and on the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two roster for 2016-19 seasons. As part of the prize package, the Calidore String Quartet will also take part in UofM’s chamber arts concert series next season.
The junior prize went to Chimera Quartet, who picked up USD5,000, while Kenari Quartet placed first in the winds section and won USD20,000. The senior open prize went to Yarn/Wire, who also collected USD20,000, with the junior title (and USD5,000) going to KDJ Trio. In total USD200,000 was distributed among the winners in each category.
A 15-member international jury picked the winners and included violinist Rachel Barton Pine, saxophonist Timothy McAllister and jazz drummer/composer John Hollenbeck.
