Please attend this years Avanti Award Dinner & Artist Showcase and celebrate new talent: avantiaward/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Online-Avanti-Invitation.pdf Here are the newest members of the Avanti Awards community of artists: JUAN DAVID MEJIA Cellist Juan Mejia hails from the town of Medellin, Colombia. His early musical studies were completed at Universidad Javeriana under the tutelage of Mintcho Badev. Upon moving to the United States at the age of seventeen, he was accepted into the prestigious preparatory program at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan before matriculating to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to complete his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees under the guidance of Jean Michel Fonteneau. He has participated in master classes with Eleanore Schoenfeld, Norman Fischer and Bonnie Hampton, and has concertized extensively around the Bay Area collaborating with many different ensembles. He is currently enjoying a career as a soloist, teacher, and cellist of the Triple Wavelength Trio and the Da Jeong Piano Trio. NOLAN RAMIREZ Throughout Nolan’s childhood he found the performing arts the perfect medium of expression, used primarily as an escape from troublesome household conditions. Currently a senior at the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, Nolan has been able to follow his recently-realized dream of becoming a classical singer. However, as he makes the next step to college, finances continues to be a lingering obstacle keeping him from fulfilling his dreams and aspirations, but has once again been saved by the generosity of those that understand how important the arts are in the lives of individuals and communities. As a winner of the Avanti Awards, Nolan is able to not only pay for travel and lodging to auditions for music schools across the country, but also have the recognition of an amazing foundation that will advocate for him in his endeavors. PRESTON POWIS Preston’s musical influences range from Glen Miller to Bach to Freddie Mercury to Old Hollywood film scores. As a singer-songwriter his music is infused with cinematic sounds and orchestral, symphonic and operatic elements. He writes from life experiences seeking to tell honest, emotional stories. Preston grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming and relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah in order to pursue music following high school. It was there he was cast in Disney’s “High School Musical 3” and while filming met and received vocal lessons from renown vocal coach Dean Kaelin. Preston will use his Avanti Award to produce his latest single, “Champion” which includes a full orchestra and studio musicians. The song is meant to inspire people to continue their dreams in the face of seemingly insurmountable problems. IREN ARUTYUNYAN Iren fell in love with the classical guitar in Armenia where her Dad performed traditional Russian and Armenian folk melodies on the guitar. She arrived in the United States at the age of seven, incorporating her ethnic background with the many different cultures and musical genres that exist in Los Angeles. Her desire is to share her original classical guitar compositions with a new generation of young musicians and teach them how to express themselves through music. Iren won an award for Most Outstanding Performer from the Armenian Allied Arts and a semi-finalist medal from the 2006 Parkening International Competition for Young Guitarist. She was the grand prize winner in the Statewide Junior category of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) Competition in 2002 and 2006. Prior to receiving my high school diploma at age sixteen, she received two associate degrees in Music and Liberal Arts from Los Angeles City College. At the age of seventeen, she began my undergraduate studies at Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California (USC). At USC, she was able to study with renowned classical guitarists such as Pepe Romero, Angel Romero, David Russell, and Paul Galbraith. Her primary instructors and mentors at USC were Scott Tennant, Bill Kanengiser, and Brian Head completing her Bachelor of Music in 2009 and Masters in Music in 2012. Iren began teaching guitar and music theory at an early age and currently works to educate a diverse group of elementary, middle-school, and high-school students. She leads afterschool music programs for Youth Policy Institute (YPI), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing academic assistance and enrichment activities to empower youth. Iren plans to use her Avanti Award to create a debut album which has been visualizing for many years, and is close to completion.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 15:39:01 +0000
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