Violinists and cellists to receive 2016 Tarisio Trust grants

Online instrument and bow auction house Tarisio has announced four of the recipients of its 2016 Tarisio Trust Young Artists Grants. A fifth winner is to be decided via an online vote from a shortlist of 15 string players. Launched in 2015, the initiative offers funding and publicity for innovative string-based projects, shaped and driven by young artists. Each grant is worth $5,000.

The four winners are:

• Canadian cellist Arlen Hlusko (pictured), who is planning an interactive concert series providing free performances for children with autism in Philadelphia, where she is currently studying at the Curtis Institute for Music
• US cellist Michael Kaufman, whose cello quintet Sakura plans to commission five American composers to ‘develop the limited repertoire for cello quintet’.
• John Mietus & Jonathan Sussman, both students at the USC Thornton School of Music, whose project ‘The String Bank’ aims to partner with professional orchestras to collect musicians’ used strings and redistribute them to underprivileged schools, to ensure students have strings to play on.
• US violinist Tessa Lark, part of the Trio Modetre piano trio, who will use the grant to fund a debut recording. It will mark the 75th anniversary of the death of composer Frank Bridge and include the third ever recording of Bridge’s Piano Trio no.2.

The fifth grant will be awarded to the winner of an online audience poll, with the 15 shortlisted candidates’ proposals on Tarisio’s site.

The four winners were chosen by a panel comprising violinist Lisa Batiashvili, cellist Gautier Capuçon and Carnegie Hall director of artistic planning Jeremy Geffen ‘on grounds of originality, innovation and artistic merit, as well as demonstration of a detailed communications strategy and a strongly project-managed schedule’.

Subscribe to The Strad or download our digital edition as part of a 30-day free trial. To purchase single issues click here.