2007 VSA arts International Young Soloists Announced Awardees to perform at the Kennedy Center

March 7, 2007

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2007 -- VSA arts announced today the recipients of the 2007 International Young Soloists Award. They are violinist Niv Ashkenazi, 17, of Northridge, California; Yew Choong Cheong; pianist, 28, of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Makabara, a vocal trio from Prague, Czech Republic; and singer-songwriter Melody Gardot, 23, of Marlton, New Jersey. The International Young Soloists will perform in concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on March 21.

The VSA arts International Young Soloists Program was created in 1984 to recognize outstanding young musicians with disabilities to support and encourage their pursuit of a career. A committee of prominent music professionals selects the award recipients, granting each a $5,000 award and the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“For 23 years, the International Young Soloists Program has discovered and supported emerging musicians from around the world,” Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts said. “Each opportunity that these artists have to perform elevates their visibility and adds to their potential for success.”

2001 International Young Soloists recipient, Quamon Fowler, tenor saxophonist from Fort Worth, Texas, will be appearing at the Kennedy Center, March 24, with jazz master James Moody and the legendary Nathan Davis as part of the Center’s Jazz Club Series. Fowler whose music ranges from soul to mainstream bebop has been playing saxophone since the age of 12 and composing music since he was 15. Twice winner of the ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer Awards competition, he has also participated in the prestigious Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead program at the Kennedy Center.

Tickets are $15 and available through the Kennedy Center’s Box Office at (800) 444-1324 or TTY (202) 416-8524, or online at www.kennedy-center.org. For more information on the International Young Soloists Award recipients, visit www.vsarts.org.

The 2007 VSA arts International Young Soloists Award Recipients:

Niv Ashkenazi, 17, is a junior at Highland Hall Waldorf School and the Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles. He has studied violin since the age of six and currently studies with Amy Hershberger. A member of the American Youth Symphony conducted by Alexander Treger, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ashkenazi has himself acted as concertmaster of the California State University, Northridge, Youth Philharmonic and the Colburn Chamber Orchestra, and was a member of the Colburn Honors Quartet. Last summer Ashkenazi, who has spina bifida, attended ENCORE School for Strings in Hudson, Ohio.
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Yew Choong Cheong will receive his Ph.D. from West Virginia University (WVU) in 2008. Cheong, 28, has earned honors from programs including the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Artist Piano Competition in West Virginia (2002) and was a selected soloist in WVU’s annual Young Artists Auditions (2003). He has participated in the International Keyboard Institute and Festival at Mannes College of Music (2004) and the Forum Internacional de Musica Barcelona Ciutat in Barcelona (2005). As a graduate assistant, Cheong, who is hard of hearing, teaches applied piano.
Makabara, a trio of young women from the Jan Deyl Conservatory in Prague, Czech Republic, was founded in 2004 by Marie Kozakova, an instructor at the school. Vocalists Marie Vostatková, Kateřina Uličná, and Barbora Janová, who have low vision, interpret traditional Czech music, Czech folk music, and compositions by contemporary Czech composers. Makabara, who sing both a cappella and with piano accompaniment, perform regularly at the Prague Municipal Library and throughout Prague, including concerts in conjunction with the Olga Havlova Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing opportunities to people with disabilities. The trio’s most important performance to date has been a concert in the chapel of St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle, sponsored by the Czech Cardinal Miloslav Vlk.
Melody Gardot is a 23-year-old award-winning singer/songwriter and guitarist whose multifaceted musical talent has drawn comparisons to Cole Porter, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone. Her debut album, Worrisome Heart, is an 11-track collection of original songs co-produced by Gardot and Grammy Award ® –winning producer Glenn Barratt. Gardot has performed at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, and other venues. Gardot, who at 19 sustained a traumatic brain injury, is the recipient of the People’s Choice Award from the Philadelphia City Paper. She has also performed with Livingston Taylor, Loudon Wainwright III, Brandi Carlile, and Susan Tedeschi.

VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. VSA arts showcases the accomplishments of artists with disabilities and promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities. Each year millions of people participate in VSA arts programs through a nationwide network of affiliates and in more than 60 countries around the world. VSA arts is an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. For more information visit www.vsarts.org

Media Contact:
Jean Wussow/VSA arts (202) 628-2800, ext. 3892
jeanw@vsarts.org