Christina and Michelle Naughton First Piano Duo to Receive Avery Fisher Career Grant

On March 14 at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR Deborah Borda, the Program's Chair, Charles Avery Fisher and Philip Avery Kirschner announce four 2019 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipients:

HENRY KRAMER, pianist; ANGELO XIANG YU, violinist; CHRISTINA and MICHELLE NAUGHTON, piano duo; THE JACK QUARTET

On Thursday, March 14, 2019, at 6PM, four 2019 Avery Fisher Career Grants are officially being announced by the Avery Fisher Artist Program’s Chair, Deborah Borda, Charles Avery Fisher and Philip Avery Kirschner. The recipients being honored at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WQXR are Henry Kramer, pianist; Angelo Xiang Yu, violinist; Christina and Michelle Naughton, piano duo; and the JACK Quartet. This marks the first time a piano duo has been awarded a Career Grant.

Following the announcement will be performances by all four Career Grant recipients. The Career Grant performances are recorded for live webstream and radio broadcast by WQXR, New York’s all-classical music station, with host Elliott Forrest, and will air on Thursday, April 25 at 9 pm on 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org. The 2019 Career Grant presentation marks the continuation of a long-standing philanthropic tradition created by Avery Fisher, which includes a relationship spanning over four decades with WQXR, a broadcast partner of these festivities since the first Career Grants were awarded in 1976. Showcasing Career Grant awardees for the ninth consecutive year, WNET Thirteen will spotlight 2019 Career Grant recipients on its program NYC-ARTS. Steinway & Sons has graciously provided the piano for this event and wishes to congratulate Steinway Artists Henry Kramer, and Christina and Michelle Naughton on receiving this honor.

Since 1976, 153 Career Grants have been awarded (including this year’s grants), and all recipients are currently active musicians. Former Career Grant recipients include pianists Kirill Gerstein and Yuja Wang; violinists Augustin Hadelich and Hilary Hahn; clarinetist Anthony McGill; and the Dover Quartet.

The Avery Fisher Artist Program, established by the late Avery Fisher as part of a major gift to Lincoln Center in 1974, serves as a monument to Mr. Fisher’s philanthropy and love of music. The Career Grants especially exemplify his devotion to helping young artists and embody his philosophy to give back to the world what music had given to him. The Program supporting instrumentalists and chamber ensembles who must be U.S. citizens or permanent U.S. residents continues to provide recognition in two categories: the Career Grants, given annually, and the Prize, given less frequently as the highest form of recognition for excellence and contributions to classical music. The Avery Fisher Artist Program is committed to all forms of diversity, with award recipients being chosen based on outstanding artistic merit. Final selections are made by the Program’s Executive Committee.

Avery Fisher Career Grants of the Avery Fisher Artist Program are designed to give professional assistance and recognition to talented instrumentalists, as well as chamber ensembles, who the Recommendation Board and Executive Committee of the Avery Fisher Artist Program believe to have great potential for major careers. Each recipient receives an award of $25,000, to be used for specific needs in advancing a career. Additionally, the Career Grant ceremony performances are professionally recorded for the recipients’ unrestricted use, posted on the Program’s website, broadcast and webstreamed by WQXR and used by WNET Thirteen’s NYC Arts. As of 2016, recipients also receive a custom designed blue and gold rosette, given as a physical symbol of the Career Grant award. Up to five Avery Fisher Career Grants may be given each year. Recipients are nominated by the Program's Recommendation Board, made up of nationally known instrumentalists, conductors, composers, music educators, managers and presenters.

The Executive Committee currently comprises Emanuel Ax, pianist; Deborah Borda, Chair, Avery Fisher Artist Program and President and CEO, New York Philharmonic; Mary Lou Falcone, M.L. Falcone, Public Relations; David Finckel and Wu Han, Artistic Directors, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; Henry Fogel, Dean, Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University; Anthony Fogg, Bernell Artistic Administrator and Director of Tanglewood, Boston Symphony Orchestra; Pamela Frank, violinist; Ara Guzelimian, Dean and Provost, The Juilliard School; Yo-Yo Ma, cellist; Jane S. Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic Director, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Chad Smith, Chief Operating Officer, Los Angeles Philharmonic; and Matías Tarnopolsky, President and CEO, The Philadelphia Orchestra. Charles Avery Fisher, Nancy Fisher and Philip Avery Kirschner are advisors to the Executive Committee. The Avery Fisher Artist Program is grateful to Lincoln Center, Inc. for continued support. We also acknowledge our gratitude to WQXR for partnering in presenting the 2019 Avery Fisher Career Grant awards.