Hellam Competition
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FOUNDERS

Dr Duane and Judy Hellam

Dr. Duane and Judy Hellam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our goals are to develop a format and an organization which functions to accomplish the following mission statement:

• To foster an environment that welcomes participation of talented and aspiring young (18 - 24 years of age) musicians whatever their musical discipline, and to provide for each competitor high expertise in the evaluation and judging of their performances relative to their peers.

• To make those evaluations available to the competitors by means of post-competition conferences with the jurors.

• To reward the work and accomplishments of these artists appropriately via cash prizes and the possibility of guest performances with the Springfield Symphony.

• To guard and maintain the legitimacy and the integrity of The Competition so as to maintain the value of the judgements and awards of The Competition to the professional artistic credentials of each competitor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    History ~ Hellam Competition

 

 

 

 

 

In 1997, under the aegis of the Springfield Symphony Association, a competition for young musical artists of college age or early post-graduate studies was instituted. The sponsers were Dr. Duane and Judy Hellam. Their effort was joined by Dr. Caroline Kerber and the competition was named The Hellam-Kerber Midwest Young Artists' Competition. When Dr. Kerber moved to a distant position her involvement and support became practically and philosophically untenable and the name reverted to the Hellam Competition in the year 2000. At that time, as well, the midwestern focus was enlarged to a national scope and the name became The Hellam Young Artists' Competition. That expansion began to manifest itself immediately, a reassuring reflection of the intent of The Competition. Indeed, there has been a consistent international flavor over the years because of the participation of excellent musicians from many countries who have come to the states to study. These students have come from Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, Taiwan, Japan, China, Pakistan, and The Republic of Georgia. All here who have worked at the Competitions, served as jurors, or who have observed performances, have been awed by the virtuosity of these young artists and by their warmth, presence, and character. They are truly gifted. The value of the effort is attested to by the steadily increaing virtuosity, annually, of a larger and larger proportion of each field of competitors.

Where have we been and where are we today?

Of 25 prize-winners to date, all remain actively involved in musical careers either in undergraduate study, graduate study, teaching, or in performance careers. Two previous winners of lesser awards have returned to become first prize winners. Since 1997, a total of nine young virtuosi have been invited to return as guest soloists with the Springfield Symphony. The 1997 1st prize winner, violinist Sara Caswell, has won a multitude of competitions and was the first ever violinist to be invited to an internationally select group of award-winning young jazz musicians convened in New York City with efforts aimed at recording and touring performances. Our Christmas card this year from the 1998 winner, pianist Tatsuya Nagashima, came from Berlin, where he was performing as solo guest artist with the Berlin Philharmonic. The First Prize in 1999 was a tie between Bulgarian pianist Plamena Kourtova and American marimbist Megan VonDreau. Both were invited to perform with Springfield Symphony in the 1999-2000 concert series. Again, in the 2000 competition, both First and Second Prize-winners were invited to perform with the symphony. Shen Wen, pianist, of the New England Conservatory of Music, and Jonathan Koh, cellist, of Northwestern University, winner of the Second Prize, were guest soloists in the 2000-2001 concert series.

The First Prize winner of the 2001 Competition is pianist Vahktang Kodonashvili, of Indiana University at South Bend, and a native of the Republic of Georgia. Mr. Kodonashvili will be guest soloist in the October Symphony concert. Second Prize-winner, cellist Tomoko Fugita, of Rice University, will be guest artist in February, 2002.

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