 Greetings from Columbia, Missouri! We are VERY excited to announce the next Plowman Chamber Music Competition taking place in March 2025. If you have been following us, you will see some positive changes. First, we are beyond grateful violinist Ida Kavafian has agreed to judge Plowman again! Due to unforeseen circumstances, she had to cancel our 2019 event. Our amazing friend, violinist Lara St. John stepped in to perform an incredible recital and judge the competition, exactly a year before the pandemic. In 2023, we thoroughly enjoyed hosting cellist Amit Peled, and now, we felt we could approach Ida again. (Thank you, Ida!) Speaking of hosting, we are finally able to offer a reception for the Plowman competitors and guests after the Finals and Awards Ceremony after 6pm on Sunday, March 23. The President of the University of Missouri System and the MU Chancellor, Dr. Mun Choi has generously invited all of us to his Chancellor's House on campus, just 3 blocks from the Missouri Theatre. There, the finalists are invited to speak to the judges about their performances, and celebrate as well. There will be reasons to celebrate: In 2025, Grand Prize Winner will walk away with not just the $5000 cash award, but also with Odyssey Award - which is an offer to come back to our beautiful collegiate town as guest artists to perform a concert in Odyssey Chamber Music Series in 2026. Odyssey guest artists' traveling expenses and lodging are usually fully covered (we have thus far met all requests); more importantly, it is an opportunity for the returning ensemble to expand its audience base, starting with the Plowman audiences. In addition, an anonymous donor has kindly increased the other prizes by $500 for 2025 and 2027: $2500 for the First Prizes and $1000 for Honorable Mentions. Audience prize remains at $500, and it is awarded in addition to any of the five finalist's prize. With these exciting news, why has this Blog been silent for so long? ...Because honestly, I forgot about it, until I spoke with a friend asked me today why it was suspended. It was one of those revelations, "Someone is reading the Blog!" Good to be back, and I will try to catch up more regularly, with more information in the coming months leading to the competition. In the meantime, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving! Ayako Tsuruta Artistic Director 
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 It was two years ago that we reluctantly announced the postponement of the 2021 Plowman Competition & Festival.
We were only just beginning to understand COVID. Fearfully we masked and raised plastic sheets in the room, sanitizing everything tangible with Clorox or Lysol. I honestly did not know if we would be able to survive the pandemic, to see the return of the Plowman Competition. It is nothing short of a miracle that Odyssey, Plowman's parent organization, survived the pandemic, and have been presenting live in-person concerts, livestream and video presentations since Fall 2020. Thanks to a series of fundraising events, Odyssey is in good position to lead the Plowman events again. 2022-2023 Season is also the first time we are going back to ticketing since February 2020. Please support us by spreading the word about this wonderful competition! If you are a member of an ensemble, we hope to hear from you in February 2023 when the applications are due. Our audiences have waited long 4 years to hear your music! Welcome back, Ayako Tsuruta Artistic Director, Plowman Competition Executive and Artistic Director, Odyssey Chamber Music Series With the recent reveal of the Odyssey Chamber Music Series' Season 17, we sincerely regret we are postponing the 10th Plowman Chamber Music Competition to 2022 or 2023. This decision was a difficult one, because we live in a world where technology is fairly advanced enough, we could have considered a virtual competition. We believe Plowman Competition & Festival needs to be more than just the ensembles competing for the Grand Prize. It is equally about the mid-Missouri communities benefiting from interacting with you and the brilliant guest artists through master classes and performances, and we did not feel our virtual competition would fulfill our expectations. With the postponed Plowman Competition, we are inviting back the 2019 Grand Prize Winner Soma Quartet on March 19, 2021, whose concert scheduled earlier in this past Spring had to be postponed due to COVID-19. Check out how Soma Quartet's website, https://www.somaquartet.com/ We sincerely look forward to hearing your ensembles when it is safe to do so, and I hope you can look forward to another fulfilling competition events when you are able to come back to see us in Columbia, Missouri. Please take care. We will stay in touch. Ayako Tsuruta Founder & Artistic Director  Click on the link for the full report! https://conta.cc/2JUedip  Exciting new from the 2017 Plowman Grand Prize winner, Vera String Quartet! "We are thrilled to begin as the Quartet in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music this fall! Over the next two years, we will be working closely with the Curtis faculty, and we will be an active participant in the vibrant performance life at Curtis, including Curtis on Tour. We are also thrilled to be joining Astral Artists, after winning its 2018 National Auditions. This season and beyond, we are excited to be performing programs that feature some of our favorite traditional quartet repertoire, paired with music from our roots – brilliant yet rarely performed works from Spain, Cuba, and the USA. Please visit our website for more information, where we invite you to watch and listen to recent performances. Vera Quartet www.veraquartet.com"   The judges have chosen their Semi-Finalist ensembles! Everyone will be contacted in the next 24 hours via e-mail. After the confirmation of your participation, the Semi-Finalist ensembles will be revealed after the weekend. Thank you very much for your participation! We thoroughly enjoyed listening and watching your performances. We cannot wait to hear your live concert in April!
 Jasper String Quartet (Plowman 2008) won the 2016 Fischoff Educator Award!! We are SO excited for them. Hear about the award and how JSQ is doing here:
http://www.fischoff.org/news/jasper-string-quartet-wins-2016-educator-award/ This just in: "Very excited to announce that QuinTexas won the Wind Prize in the 2015 Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition!"
GRAND PRIZE ($5000) - Cardinal Winds, from USC in Los Angeles
FIRST PRIZE ($2000) in Piano/Strings - Quartet Tito, from Chicago, IL FIRST PRIZE ($2000) in Winds, Brass & Percussion - The Kyodai Brass, from CIM in OH HONORABLE MENTION ($500) - QuinTexas from UT of Austin, and Pavo Quartet from DePaul University in Chicago, IL AUDIENCE PRIZE ($200) was awarded to Quartet Tito JUDGES SPECIAL RECOGNITION to Stellio Trio, from Northwestern in IL and Hathor Winds, from Boston, MA Odyssey Music @ Lenoir Woods - Deciduous Trio (harp-va-fl.), from Rice University in Houston, TX Congratulations to Semi-Finalists #5 String Quartet, #8 QuinTexas, #11 String Quartet, #14 Brass Quintet and #15 Piano Sextet (Piano & Woodwind Quintet)!
Please join us in congratulating them in the Finals this afternoon at 1:30pm, Missouri Theatre in Columbia, Missouri. Tickets are available for purchase $25 / $10 Student, which includes reception immediately after the performances, as the jury deliberates. This phenomenal showdown comes with equally fantastic, diverse program this year. Hope to see you soon! = Odyssey Chamber Music Series, First Baptist Church of Columbia, MU School of Music and Missouri Symphony Society Present The 7th Plowman Chamber Music Competition The Finals & Award Ceremony March 22, 2015 - 1:30 pm Missouri Theatre - Columbia, Missouri 1:30pm 1. Brass Quintet Holborne: Elizabethan Dance Suite (unknown) Almand Pavan Gigue Collier Jones: Four Movements for Five Brass (1957) Introduction Pretentions Waltz Finale Ewald: Quintet No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 5 (1890) Adagio- Allegro Vivace- Adagio Allegro Moderato Druckman: Dances with Shadows (1990) 2:00pm 2. String Quartet Haydn: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 77 No. 1, Hob.III:81 (1802) I. Allegro III. Menuetto Tower: Night Fields (1994) 2:30pm 3. Woodwind Quintet Barber: Summer Music, Op. 31 (1956) Nielsen: Quintet, Op. 41 (1922) Allegro ben moderato ) Mozart: Serenade in C minor, K. 388 (1782), arr. Mordecai Rechtman I. Allegro IV. Allegro ~ Intermission ~ 3:15pm 4. String Quartet Janáček : String Quartet No. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata” (1923) I. Adagio - con moto II. Con moto Haydn: String Quartet in C Major, Op. 50 No. 2 (1787) Adagio. Cantabile Finale. Vivace assai Mendelssohn: String Quartet in F minor, Op. 80 (1847) Allegro vivace assai 3:45pm 5. Piano Sextet (Piano & Woodwind Quintet) Poulenc: Sextet for Wind Quintet and Piano in C Major, FP 100 (1932-1963) I. Allegro vivace Thuille: Sextet for Piano and Woodwind Quintet, Op. 6 (1888) II. Larghetto III. Gavotte. Andane, quasi Allegretto IV. Finale. Molto vivace After the Reception, Award Ceremony will Follow. |
AuthorAyako Tsuruta, Artistic Director Archives
August 2022
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