AMUR for new talents
Artistic residencies at historical classical music institutions
New difficulties and uncertainties are looming in the world of music and live performance, particularly chamber music, in a seemingly unrelenting emergency. The AMUR Committee, with its strong national network and aware of the responsibility of its institutional role, is responding by launching a biennial call for artistic residencies for young chamber music ensembles. The selected young artists will have the opportunity to perform before AMUR’s artistic directors and, for the most promising, on the stages of 17 major classical music institutions, a launching pad for a successful national and international career.
“AMUR plays a crucial role in building the careers of young emerging artists who find themselves taking their first steps in an unprecedented and particularly complex scenario.”–Francesca Moncada, president of the AMUR Committee
A long-term perspective
During this pandemic, we’ve learned to look to the future with uncertainty, thinking week by week. Italy’s major concert venues have found alternative ways to continue bringing music to audiences, because that’s what they’ve been doing for decades (some hundreds) of years. Even the AMUR Committee, with Silenzio in sala a tempo di Musica (Silence in the Hall in Time with Music), the Music and Photography project that recreated an online season behind closed doors from January to April 2021, transcended the walls of the homes of many Italians—music lovers and otherwise—bringing them exclusive performances by major national and international artists. But the historic institutions of classical music also have a duty to nurture a new generation of artists. The AMUR Committee, which has been actively working online since 2020 and includes the promotion of young talents in its mission, is launching a call for residencies for the career development of emerging artists, to give them – who have suffered most from the lack of musical activity in the last two years – a long-term perspective.
For young emerging artists entering the national and international scene, being involved in a national tour project by the institutions that make up the AMUR Committee is a true showcase. Indeed, the importance that these historic institutions play in promoting and supporting professional careers is significant. The concert venues that promote this call are a coveted platform, capable of establishing promising young talents as professional artists.
AMUR for New Talents aims to become a springboard for anyone who aspires to turn music studies into a career. The call will be announced every two years, alternating the year of selection with the year in which the winners perform on the stages of AMUR organizations.
The Call
The selection is open to any type of instrumental, vocal, or mixed ensemble, from two to six performers, composed of Italian or foreign musicians residing in Italy with an average age of no more than 30 years. The rules include a video pre-selection and a live final. The pre-selection video has a duration of between 20 and 30 minutes and has a free program (including single movements). The deadline for submission by email is March 31, 2022, and the live final selection for about ten ensembles will take place this edition in Perugia on June 4-5, 2022. The selected groups will perform a minimum of 5 concerts in the 23-24 season for the concert seasons of the institutions belonging to the AMUR Committee. The promoting bodies undertake to pay a maximum of 3 selected ensembles a fee of:
- 700 euro lordi a concerto per ciascun esecutore delle formazioni da due fino a quattro esecutori,
- 600 euro lordi a concerto per ciascun esecutore delle formazioni di cinque o sei esecutori.
In addition, accommodation or hospitality expenses at Le Dimore del Quartetto at the concert venues will be covered.