iE INDIANAPOLIS STAR • WWW.INDYSTAR.COM
Metro State
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14,2008 B3
Grace Fong
AdamGolka Michael Kirkendoll Igor Lovchinsky Elizabeth Joy Roe
5 musicians make finals
of classical competition
By Whitney Smith
whitney.smith@indy.com
The American Pianists Association's next
Classical Fellowship Awards competition will
feature its most diverse mix of finalists in recent years.
While the 2006 finalists in the triennial,
Indianapolis-based contest were all men, the
2009 finalists include two women. The APA
requires that all competitors be U.S. citizens,
but at least one 2009 finalist was born overseas.
Finalists will begin the seven-month Classical Fellowship process with the Premiere
Series round. That round will consist of concerto performances from Sept. 21 to Feb. 15
with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra.
For the first time, the Premiere Series concerts will be at the Indianapolis Museum of
Art's Deer Zink Events Pavilion.
The finals round, known as Discovery
Week, will be from March 28 to April 4,2009,
at various locations. Discovery Week will involve chamber music and orchestral programs accompanied by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Discovery Week will culminate with the
selection of two Classical Fellows, both of
whom will receive concert and tour packages.
Chosen from a preliminary round of 50
nominees, the 2009 finalists are:
♦ Grace Fong, 29, director of keyboard
studies at Chapman Conservatory of Music in
Orange, Calif., and sixth-prize winner in England's 2006 Leeds International Competition.
♦ Adam Golka, 20, a Texas Christian University graduate who is this year's Young Artist Award winner of Michigan's Gilmore
International Keyboard Festival.
♦ Michael Kirkendoll, 29, a University of
Kansas doctoral student with a strong interest in contemporary music.
♦ Igor Lovchinsky, 23, a Russian-born .milliard School graduate.
♦ Elizabeth Joy Roe, 26, who is part of a piano duo with fellow Juilliard graduate Greg Anderson.
Anderson is one of the 2009 Classical Fellow
Awards alternates, along with Chris Guzman,
Eric Zuber and Alex McDonald.
"This is an extremely competitive mix of
nominees, and a very interesting assortment
of people," said Joel Harrison, the APA's artistic director.
Founded in 1979, the APA organizes classical and jazz contests for young pianists, presents arts education programs and organizes
the annual Indy Jazz Fest.
* Call Star reporter Whitney Smith
at (317) 444-6226.
