Cedille Records Announces Nine Semifinalists in Emerging Artist Competition for Chicago-Based Musicians

Cedille Records announces nine semifinalists in Emerging Artist Competition for Chicago-based musicians:

Artemisia, vocal ensemble (28, 30, 36)

Emily Birsan, soprano (34)

Claire Bourg, violin (24)

Maya Anjali Buchanan, violin (19)

Karisa Chiu, violin (20)

Johannes Gray, cello (22)

Clare Longendyke, piano (32)

Andrew Rosenblum, harpsichord (33)

Julian Velasco, saxophone (24)

The competition takes place in conjunction with Cedille's 30th anniversary, furthering the label's mission of elevating the work of Chicago artists.

In celebration of Cedille Records' upcoming 30th Anniversary and in furtherance of Cedille's mission to elevate Chicago artists, Cedille Records announces the semifinalists in its Emerging Artist Competition for Chicago area individual performers and ensembles. The winner of the competition will record and release an album on Cedille.

Timeline of competition

September 16, 2018: Competition Announcement
February 15, 2019: Application becomes available
September 1, 2019: Submission Deadline
November 1, 2019: Artist Notification
May 30, 2020: Semifinals at the Spertus Institute
May 31, 2020: Finals at the Spertus Institute
September 2020: Winner performs at Soirée Cedille
Recording sessions to take place during 2020
Fall 2021: Album release

Judges:

James Ginsburg (Cedille Records founder and President)
Rachel Barton Pine (violinist and Cedille recording artist)
Henry Fogel (Cedille founding board member and former board chair; former President, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Cristina Rocca (Vice President, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
George Preston (Vice President and General Manager, WFMT and former vocalist)
Vladimir Kulenovic (conductor and Artistic Director, Lake Forest Symphony)
David McGill (former Principal Bassoon, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

The Competition

Applications were screened by a panel of Cedille Records board members. Live, open to the public semifinal and final rounds will take place over concurrent days in Chicago May 30 and 31, 2020. Semifinalists will prepare an hour of music from which judges will select 15 minutes to be performed. The final round will include up to five contestants playing 30 minutes of music total, including two contrasting works, selected by the contestants themselves. Semifinal and final performances will be adjudicated by the panel of seven judges listed above.

One winner and one honorable mention will be selected. The winner will record a Cedille Records album for release in fall 2021. The winner's prize will be offered to the honorable mention if the winner is not able to record or release the album as planned.

Cedille Records

Launched in November 1989, Grammy Award-winning Cedille Records (pronounced say-DEE) is dedicated to showcasing and promoting the most noteworthy classical artists in and from the Chicago area.

The audiophile-oriented label releases every new album in multiple formats: physical CD; 96 kHz, 24-bit, studio-quality FLAC download; and 320 Kbps MP3 download.

An independent nonprofit enterprise, Cedille Records is the label of Cedille Chicago, NFP. Sales of physical CDs and digital downloads and streams cover only a small percentage of the label's costs. Tax-deductible donations from individual music-lovers and grants from charitable organizations account for most of its revenue.

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