For Immediate Release

CEDILLE RECORDS ANNOUNCES ITS SECOND

ZELL FAMILY FOUNDATION-SPONSORED

EMERGING ARTIST COMPETITION FOR CHICAGO-BASED MUSICIANS

 The competition furthers the label’s mission

of supporting the work and careers of Chicago artists

CHICAGO, IL (February 20, 2024) –The pioneering Chicago-based classical music label Cedille Records announces its second Zell Family Foundation-sponsored Emerging Artist Competition designed to augment its mission of supporting Chicago’s finest classical music artists. Applications for the Emerging Artist Competition will be available on February 15, 2024, with the competition’s live rounds taking place May 17-18, 2025. The competition is open to individual musicians (instrumental and vocal) and ensembles of up to six people that reside in or are originally from the Chicago metro area. The winner will get to record their featured debut album on Cedille Records.

James Ginsburg founded Cedille Records in 1989 with the vision of making classical recordings featuring outstanding Chicago-area musicians; to this day, Cedille continues to fulfill its mission of recording original programs developed by artists, including Jennifer Koh, Rachel Barton Pine, Eighth Blackbird, the Pacifica Quartet, Third Coast Percussion, Will Liverman, and Anthony McGill. Their recordings are regularly honored with the highest accolades, including GRAMMY® awards — to date Cedille has received 33 GRAMMY® nominations and 8 awards.

The first competition’s winner, saxophonist Julian Velasco, released his debut album, As We Are, on Cedille in August 2022 to critical acclaim. The Chicago Tribune wrote: “As We Are is a bird’s-eye view of Velasco’s range, both as an infectiously joyous interpreter of new music and a monster improviser.” Velasco has premiered over 50 new works, collaborating and performing with a wide range of artists including Ron Carter, Billy Childs, Jimmy Cobb, Annika Socolofsky, Christian McBride, Rufus Reid, PRISM Quartet, Zhou Tian, Rodney Whitaker, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. In addition to his solo career, he is also soprano saxophonist of ~Nois saxophone quartet. Of the opportunity to release a fully funded album on the illustrious label, Velasco said: “It's an investment in [my] future and it's an investment in the future of [my] career, but also, the future of [my] artistic presence . . . I couldn't be more grateful.”

APPLICATION DETAILS

The application for the Emerging Artist Competition will become available on February 15, 2024. Individual performers and ensembles (sextet or smaller) who have not appeared as the featured performer on another commercially-released CD are eligible to apply; the competition is not open to composers or conductors. The maximum age limit for individual performers is 35 years old as of the application open date. For ensembles, the average age of ensemble members should not exceed 35 and no individual player may exceed 40 years of age. There is no minimum age limit. All individual performers and at least 50% of ensemble players must reside in or come from the Chicago metro area (defined as the following counties: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will). No individual may appear on more than one application; for example, if applying as a soloist, an individual may not also apply as a member of an ensemble.

To apply for the Emerging Artist Competition, artists must submit a resume; a written goal statement, including an explanation of their connection to Chicago; a list of any commercially-released recordings on which they have participated (not as a featured performer); a concept and suggested repertoire for an album; and unedited video of the artist(s) performing two contrasting pieces, which need not be the same as the repertoire prepared for later rounds of the competition or the album concept.

The application fee is $50 for individuals and $100 for ensembles. The deadline for all application submissions will be August 1, 2024 and the semifinalists will be announced on November 1, 2024.

THE COMPETITION

After applications are screened by a panel of Cedille Records board members, the competition semi-finals and finals will take place as live rounds in Chicago May 17-18, 2025. The final round on May 18 will be live-streamed and open in-person to the public. Semi-finals will include up to 10 contestants, who will prepare an hour of music and choose one piece with which to begin; judges may ask to hear other portions of repertoire at their discretion. The final round will include up to five contestants playing 30 minutes of music total, including two contrasting works, selected by the contestants themselves. 

Semi-final and final performances will be judged by a panel of seven judges comprising prominent Chicago-based musicians and industry professionals. The judging panel includes Cedille founder James Ginsburg, former President of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association Henry Fogel, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, Third Coast Percussion member David Skidmore, outgoing Chicago Opera Theater Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya, Chicago-based composer Stacy Garrop, and WFMT-FM Music Director Oliver Comacho.

One winner and one honorable mention will be selected. The winner will record a Cedille Records album for release in 2026. 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.

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