All recipients

Ulster Youth Orchestra, Northern Ireland

  • Selected by: Edward Heath, International Advisor

The Ulster Youth Orchestra was initiated by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in 1993. It's aim is to enable young people from the whole of Northern Ireland to achieve their musical potential through the provision of the highest quality of tuition. The UYO brings together young musicians, aged 14 to 21 from all sections of the community, once a year for a 10-day summer course, and concerts. Members of the orchestra are selected by audition every year from the youth orchestras in the region. The UYO had not had the opportunity to perform in England since its inception. The grant enabled the UYO to make a concert/study tour to the mainland in 2001. They also performed as a part of the Festival of British Youth Orchestras in Glasgow.

Instituto Superior de Arte(ISA), Cuba

  • Selected by: David Rockefeller, Jr., International Advisor

Instituto Superior de Arte, founded in Cuba in 1976, is the National University of Arts, providing instruction in music, theater, dance, fine art, photography, and film. Approximately 1,000 students are enrolled. The Building of ISA, designed by Cuban architect Ricardo Porro and constructed in the 1960s, is considered one of the most important cultural assets in Latin America. The ISA has concentrated on developing each student’s individual creativity and, at the same time, on preserving Cuban culture. The Grant was mainly used to purchase lighting and sound equipment for the Theater and Dance Faculties.

The Polish National Film, Television and Theater School, Lodz

  • Selected by: Helmut Schmidt, International Advisor

The Polish National Film, Television and Theater School was founded in 1948. Since then it has been a cradle for creative talents such as Andrzej Wajda, 1996 Praemium Imperiale laureate, and Roman Polanski. There are approximately 250 students studying film, television, theater, as well as being trained as specialists in production management. The school has worked over many decades under conditions dictated by a communist regime. The grant was used for a film produced by students. The school held a competition, and a scenario of a Bosnian student was selected for realization. The film entitled "The Scent of Rain" was finished in the summer of 1999 and screened at many film festivals.

Hanoi National Conservatory of Music, Vietnam

  • Selected by: Yasuhiro Nakasone, International Advisor

Hanoi National Conservatory of Music is a national music education institute training 1000 students from the primary to postgraduate level. It was established in 1956, and continued to nurture world-class musicians even during the war years. To support the plan by the conservatory to assemble a full 100 piece orchestra, the Japan Art Association invited Hikotaro Yazaki, a conductor resident in Paris, to Hanoi in 1998, to give the orchestra specialist instruction. The result was a series of commemorative concerts in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Min City. All the expenses for this preparation and tour were funded by the grant. In 1999 the conservatory orchestra visited Tokyo at the invitation of Ministry of Culture and Information of Japan, and gave their first concert overseas.

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