2018 Career Assistance Awards
Solti Foundation U.S.
Chicago, IL
Penny Van Horn, Board Chair of The Solti Foundation U.S. and Elizabeth Buccheri, Artistic and Awards Committee Chair, today announced the names of the eight recipients of the 2018 Solti Foundation Career Assistance Awards. The young conductors hold positions throughout the United States, with posts in Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York.
“Supporting and encouraging young conductors at the beginning of their careers is the mission of The Solti Foundation U.S.,” said Ms. Van Horn. “As I have stated in the past, the young musicians we recognize are part of the fabric of our future musical landscape. From what we have seen and heard, it is going to be a glorious, immense vista, full of creativity, energy and passion! We congratulate each of our 2018 awardees.”
Ms. Van Horn revealed Daniel Black, Assistant Conductor, Florida Orchestra (commencing fall 2018); Roger Kalia, Assistant Conductor of Pacific Symphony and Music Director of Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra, and Co-Founder and Music Director of the Lake George Music Festival (NY); Stilian Kirov, Music Director of the Illinois Philharmonic, Bakersfield Symphony (CA), and New Jersey’s Symphony in C; Farkhad Khudyev, Music Director of Calilfornia’s Hidden Valley Orchestra Institute and Youth Music Monterey County; Stephen Mulligan, Assistant Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra; Sameer Patel, Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and of Idaho’s Sun Valley Summer Symphony; Stefano Sarzani, who serves as a Solti Fellow at Lyric Opera of Chicago, assisting and covering La Boheme and Il trovatore this fall 2018; and Lidiya Yankovskaya, Music Director with Chicago Opera Theater, a resident artist at National Sawdust in NYC, and Artistic Director of Refugee Orchestra Project as the 2018 Award recipients.
Lidiya Yankovskaya
Music Director with Chicago Opera Theater, a resident artist at National Sawdust in NYC, and Artistic Director of Refugee Orchestra Project, Lidiya Yankovskaya has previously served as a conductor with Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, as regular guest chorus master with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director of Juventas New Music Ensemble/Boston New Music Festival, and as Music Director with Harvard’s Lowell House Opera. Upcoming engagements include the Spoleto Festival USA, National Sawdust Hildegard Project with Refugee Orchestra project, Chicago Opera Theater, Washington National Opera, and Mobile Symphony Orchestra. Past guesting engagements include Stamford Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Flagstaff Symphony, Symphony New Hampshire, Wolftrap Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, The Castleton Festival, and a workshop of a new work with The Metropolitan Opera. Yankovskaya was featured in the 2017 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, is a part of Marin Alsop’s Taki Concordia Fellowship and The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors.