Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship Announces 2009 Fellow Mihaela Cesa-Goje
September 14, 2009 - New York
The TAKI CONCORDIA CONDUCTING FELLOWSHIP is pleased to announce that conductor MIHAELA CESA-GOJE has been named the 2009 Taki Concordia Conducting Fellow.
MARIN ALSOP founded the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship in 2002, out of a desire to create a program which fosters and encourages women who are studying or training to be orchestral conductors. Previous winners (Carolyn Kuan, Laura Jackson, Rei Hotoda, Jeri Lynne Johnson and Mei-Ann Chen) have conducted with major symphony orchestras in Atlanta, Seattle, Winnipeg, San Francisco and Dallas. The TCCF recently expanded the fellowship, which now extends opportunities for study and conducting over a two-year period, to further benefit the recipient. The 2009 TCCF will include several weeks of conducting with Maestra Marin Alsop, plus additional weeks with other established international conductors. Additionally, in-depth exposure to all aspects of the orchestra industry, including marketing, PR, fund raising and artistic planning will be offered during the two-year appointment.
As the winner of the 2009 Taki Concordia Fellowship, Mihaela Cesa-Goje will work with Ms. Alsop and other conductors in coaching sessions, rehearsals and concerts throughout the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons. Cesa-Goje will receive feedback from orchestral musicians and community leaders during her weeks with these various orchestras. Ms. Cesa-Goje will receive an honorarium and is slated to conduct the opening work on October 11, 2009 in a subscription concert series with Ms. Alsop and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
TCCF extends special recognition as honorable mention in 2009 to conductor Hebe de Champeaux, as a candidate with significant conducting talent. Travel assistance and sponsorship for Ms. Cesa-Coje is provided in part by the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce.
Mihaela Cesa-Goje (brief biography)
Winner of the 2009 Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship, Mihaela Cesa-Goje was born in 1979 in Satu Mare, Romania. At the age of six, she began studying piano. Cesa-Goje earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Gh Dima Music Academy in Cluj, Romania, where she focused on orchestral and choral conducting with Florentin Mihaescu, graduating "cum laude."
Cesa-Goje has been the recipient of several conducting prizes and awards. In 2003 she was awarded the "Sandor Vegh Prize" by the Romanian Mozart Society for an outstanding performance of Mozart's "Der Schauspiele Direktor" at the Cluj National Opera, Romania. In 2005, she completed her Conducting Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music in London and was awarded the Irene Burcher Prize. In 2009, she was selected as one of the three young Romanian conductors to debut at the Romanian Athenaeum, the most important concert hall in Romania.
Cesa-Goje is currently Principal Conductor of the Targu Mures International Classical Guitar Festival and has appeared as guest conductor of the Transylvania State Philharmonic, Dinu Lipatti Philharmonic, Oradea Philharmonic and the Camerata Euroart Orchestra. Mihaela is a champion of contemporary music and has been involved in the presentation of many world premieres by Romanian composers.
The 2009 -2010 season includes her debut with the Sibiu Philharmonic and Nae Leonard Orchestra, as well as her new position as Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Camerata Euroart in Satu Mare.
Special recognition given to conductor
Hebe de Champeaux
In 2009, TCCF reviewed candidates from an international pool of women conductors, representing sixteen countries. Hebe de Champeaux was selected to receive special recognition as "honorable mention" for the 2009 Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship. There is only one honorable mention awarded and is the only other title given beyond the fellowship winner.
Hebe de Champeaux is a Dutch/American conductor, violinist and mezzo-soprano currently residing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Ms. de Champeaux began playing the violin at age 4, and continued to study music, receiving a Bachelor of Music in violin performance (cum laude) from San Francisco State University, a Master of Music in instrumental conducting from Indiana University Bloomington and a Bachelor of Music in choral conducting from the Amsterdam Conservatory.
In 2006, de Champeaux and stage director Mihaela Bogdan founded a student organization, named ExArt, of artists from all genres. In 2007, she won the Jury's Prize at the Bela Bartok International Opera Conducting Competition. Currently, de Cahmpeaux conducts the Leiden English Choir, Cantiamo Women's Chorus, is assistant conductor of Toonkunstkoor Amsterdam, teaches two childrens choirs in East Amsterdam and gives workshops at Stichting Buitenkunst.
About Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship
The Mission of the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship is to promote, present, and encourage talented women conductors at the beginning of their professional careers.
Founded by Marin Alsop in 2002, the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship (TCCF) is a unique opportunity for young women conductors to immerse themselves in the art and business of performing classical music under the leadership of Marin Alsop, the first female music director of a major American orchestra.
The TCCF Advisory Board is comprised of composers, business leaders and several internationally known conductors, including Maestros Bernard Haitink, Michael Tilson Thomas, Leonard Slatkin, JoAnn Falletta, Stefan Sanderling and others, who have joined Ms. Alsop in their support of nurturing young talent.
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Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship, Inc. |
Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship, Inc. |