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And the Winner Is: Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition Awards 2016 Gold and Silver Medals

Chesapeake Music brings renowned musicians to delight, engage and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire and develop tomorrow’s.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 21, 2016
Contact: Don Buxton (410) 819-0380
or Amy Steward (410) 829-0436

BLOCK4 - Gold Medal Winner
Pictured are BLOCK4 (www.block4.co.uk), a London-based recorder quartet who were awarded the Gold Medal prize of $10,000 in the 2016 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition. The ensemble played the following day at the Temple B’nai Israel in Easton. (Photo by Amy Steward)
Olympus Piano Trio - Silver Medal
Pictured are Olympus Piano Trio (www.bencapps.com), a New York City-based trio who were awarded both the Silver Medal prize of $5,000 and the Audience Choice Award in the 2016 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition. (Photo by Bill Geoghegan)

There was a hush in the audience on Saturday night, April 9, as a crowd assembled in the Avalon Theatre to hear the winners of the 2016 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition. Five world-class ensembles, selected from 41 applicants representing some of the finest young chamber music performers in the world, had competed all day for one of the world’s largest chamber music prizes. The finalists included BLOCK4 Quartet, the Cerulean Trio, the Daraja Ensemble, the East End Quartet, and the Olympus Piano Trio.

The Gold Medal prize of $10,000 was awarded to BLOCK4 (www.block4.co.uk), a London-based recorder quartet featuring Emily Bannister, Lucy Carr, Katie Cowling and Rosie Land. Former students of the Royal College of Music, BLOCK4 captivated audiences with their space-age Paetzold recorders and unusual instrument sounds and techniques.  The group played both contemporary music written for them, as well as Renaissance and Baroque pieces. Rosie Land commented, “We came into this Competition knowing that there were high standards so we felt lucky to be finalists.”

The Competition’s Silver Medal prize of $5,000 and Audience Choice Award were both awarded to the Olympus Piano Trio (www.bencapps.com). An audience favorite, the New York City-based trio combined the forces of violinist Regi Papa, cellist Ben Capps, and pianist Konstantinos Valianatos.  The three met at Juilliard in 2010 to celebrate a passion for chamber music, as well as their shared Hellenic heritage. Their passion was revealed in their performance of the music of Mendelssohn and Shostakovich.

If you missed BLOCK4 on April 9, you won’t want to miss them when they return on June 17 to the Avalon Theatre to present their concert as winners of the 2016 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition in this year’s 31st Chamber Music Festival being held June 5 through 19, 2016.

Sponsors of this year’s Festival include the Talbot County Arts Council, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Star-Democrat. Additional generous financial support from corporate, public and private benefactors enables Chesapeake Music to offer affordable tickets for Festival concerts and recitals; open rehearsals are free to the general public.  For additional information or to purchase tickets, visit www.ChesapeakeMusic.org or call 410 819-0380.

 

Captions:

Photo #1: Pictured are BLOCK4 (www.block4.co.uk), a London-based recorder quartet who were awarded the Gold Medal prize of $10,000 in the 2016 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition. The ensemble played the following day at the Temple B’nai Israel in Easton. (Photo by Amy Steward)

Photo #2: Pictured are Olympus Piano Trio (www.bencapps.com), a New York City-based trio who were awarded both the Silver Medal prize of $5,000 and the Audience Choice Award in the 2016 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition.  (Photo by Bill Geoghegan)

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