The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) create their Discovery Award, aimed at distinguishing young musicians from 12 to 18 years. This new award category is created in close collaboration with the Foundation International Music Academy in the Principality of Liechtenstein.
« Today, the competition between young talented musicians is particularly strong, and we believe that the best ones should benefit from the best possible support, » said ICMA President Remy Franck. « We therefore add this new price to the existing categories, which will allow us to promote annually one outstanding musician in whose future we strongly believe. With our totally independent panel of judges comprising 16 music critics from 13 countries, the ICMA Jury is willing to help bolstering musical achievement among our talented young award winners while allowing them to get the recognition they will need in this rapidly changing century. We are thrilled to organize the Discovery Award in cooperation with the International Music Academy in the Principality of Liechtenstein and to receive the necessary financial support from their Foundation allowing us to develop this project in the best possible way. »
« Nowadays, an outstanding artistic and/or soloist education alone is not enough for young musicians. Excellent musical knowledge is only ‘one’ of the requirements. To be successful on the ‘market’, it is absolutely necessary to communicate to the young musicians other aspects of a holistic education and of character building. This exactly is targeted by the International Music Academy and pursued with lots of success and appreciation. We are honoured that the ICMA rate our ambition of educating outstanding musicians holistically as very positive and want to award their new price in very close cooperation with us,” said Drazen Domjanic, Artistic Director and Managing Director of the International Music Academy in the Principality of Liechtenstein.
The Discovery Award will be organized for the first time in 2016 and the winner’s name will be published together with all the other winners in January of that year. The first winner of the Discovery Award will be presented at the Award Ceremony in San Sebastian (Spain), on 1 April 2016 and subsequently play at the Gala Concert with the Euskadi Orchestra.