CMS Congratulates Violinist Sean Lee
The Chamber Music Society is pleased to announce that CMS violinist Sean Lee is among the recipients of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant. On Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at 6PM, five 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grants are officially being announced by the Avery Fisher Artist Program's Chairman, Joseph W. Polisi, along with Charles Avery Fisher, Nancy Fisher and Philip Avery Kirschner. The recipients being honored at the announcement celebration at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR are Jay Campbell, cellist; Alexi Kenney, Tessa Lark, and Sean Lee, violinists; and George Li, pianist.
The announcement is followed by performances by all five Career Grant recipients. These performances are recorded for live webstream and radio broadcast by WQXR, New York's classical music station, with host Elliott Forrest, and will air on Saturday, April 30 at 9 pm, with a replay on Wednesday, May 4 at 10 pm, on 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org. The 2016 Career Grant presentations mark the continuation of a long standing relationship with WQXR, which has been a broadcast partner of these festivities since the first Career Grants were awarded in 1976. Since then, 141 Career Grants have been awarded (including this year's grants), and all recipients are currently working musicians. Showcasing Career Grant awardees for the sixth consecutive year, WNET Thirteen will spotlight 2016 Career Grant recipients on NYC-ARTS.
The Avery Fisher Artist Program, established by the late Avery Fisher as part of a major gift to Lincoln Center in 1974, 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.