Semi-finalists: CONDUCTORS (orchestra), 2021

The American Prize wishes everyone safety and health during this difficult time. 

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, David Volosin Katz, founder and chief judge, is pleased to announce 2021 national SEMI-FINALIST conductors in orchestra divisions. Congratulations!

As the contests unfold, finalists, runners-up and winners will be selected from this list. To know the exact date when finalists will be announced, please like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter #AmericanPrize, where that information will be published first.

All contestants are reminded they are responsible for the viability of their online links to audition materials. Those links must remain active until the end of the contest year. Questions, or to make us aware of any misprints in the listings below, please email: theamericanprize@gmail.com 

We invite semi-finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on their facebook page, tweeting the news, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. A sample announcement may be found at the end of the post.


NATIONAL SEMI-FINALISTS: The American Prize in Conducting—professional orchestra division, 2021

Matthew Aubin 

Jackson Symphony Orchestra 

Jackson MI    

Thomas Taylor Dickey

Danube Symphony Orchestra  

Budapest Hungary 

Ho-Yin Kwok  

Eastern Festival Orchestra 

Greensboro    NC    

Dongyul Lee   

World Mission Orchestra    

Los Angeles   CA    

Kypros Markou

Dvorak Chamber Orchestra   

Prague  Czech Republic     

Paul Mauffray    

Hungarian State Opera

Cluj-Napoca   Romania     

Tigran Shiganyan   

The National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan

Tashkent Uzbekistan  

Mariusz Smolij

Acadiana Symphony Orchestra 

Lafayette     LA    

Luis  Viquez

Orquesta Sinfonica de Heredia    

Heredia Costa Rica  

NATIONAL SEMI-FINALISTS: The American Prize in Conducting—college/university orchestra division, 2021

Adam Bodony   

Perdue Philharmonic Orchestra     

West Lafayette   IN

Robert Bott     

University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra 

Denton     TX

Matthew J. Brooks   

JMU Symphony Orchestra

Harrisonburg     VA

Heather Buchman  

Hamilton College Orchestra  

Clinton    NY

Austin Chanu    

Eastman School Symphony Orchestra 

Rochester  NY

Filippo Ciabatti 

Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra

Hanover    NH

Maurice Cohn     

Eastman School Symphony Orchestra 

Rochester  NY

Alexandra Dee

Northwestern University Orchestras, IL State University Symphony Orchestra     

Evanston IL

Thomas Dickey   

OSU Symphony Orchestra

Stillwater OK

Keith Dodson   

FSU University Symphony    

Tallahassee FL

Mark Dupere   

Lawrence Symphony Orchestra 

Appleton   WI

Edo Frenkel  

Ossia: New Music

Rochester  NY

Jean Gomez    

University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra   

Athens     GA

Jeffrey Klefstad 

McGill Symphony Orchestra   

Montreal   Quebec 

Ho-Yin Kwok     

University of Minnesota Symphony Orchestra   

Minneapolis MN

Jackson Leung    

Wright State University Chamber Orchestra  

Dayton     OH

Matthew Lovelace 

Texas Christian University Symphony Orchestra    

Fort Worth TX

Yunn-Shan Ma 

Rochester Institute of Technology Philharmonic Orchestra  

Rochester  NY

Nicoletta Moss     

University of North Carolina at Greensboro Symphony Orchestra

Greensboro NC

Keun Oh 

Arizona Symphony

Tucson     AZ

Pyeongkang Park     

Georgia State Symphony Orchestra  

Atlanta    GA

David A. Rahbee   

University of Washington Symphony Orchestra  

Seattle    WA

Hannah Schendel 

Bethel Chamber Orchestra    

Arden Hills MN

Jonathan Spatola-Knoll  

Alma Symphony Orchestra     

Alma MI

Luis Viquez   

University of South Dakota Symphony Orchestra

Vermillion SD 

NATIONAL SEMI-FINALISTS: The American Prize in Conducting—community orchestra division, 2021

Pierre-Alain Chevalier

Baytown Symphony Orchestra    

Houston    TX 

Ezra Donner   

University of Michigan Gilbert and Sullivan Society   

Ann Arbor  MI 

Livia  Gho

Women's Orchestra of Arizona  

Phoenix    AZ 

Thomas E. Rainey   

Williamson County Symphony Orchestra

Round Rock TX 

Ho-Yin Kwok     

Mississippi Valley Orchestra  

Minneapolis MN 

John Masko    

Wellesley Symphony Orchestra  

Wellesley  MA 

Taka Matsunaga

Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra

Schaumburg IL 

David P. Sartor   

Parthenon Chamber Orchestra   

Nashville  TN 

Hannah Schendel 

Bethel Philharmonic Community Orchestra   

Arden Hills MN 

Matthew Christopher

Shepard  Village Orchestra 

Prairie Village  KS 

Chris David Westover-Munoz 

Newton Mid-Kansas Symphony Orchestra

Newton     KS

NATIONAL SEMI-FINALISTS: The American Prize in Conducting—youth & school orchestra division, 2021

Emmanuel Coraza

Cavalier Chamber Orchestra 

The Woodlands TX

Mary Gerard

All About Music

San Diego     CA 

Jim Kollias     

Beckman HS Chamber Orchestra    

 Irvine  CA

Ulli Reiner

Bernardo Heights Twin Peaks Orchestra  

Poway   CA

Michael Webster    

Houston Youth Symphony     

Houston TX 

*** 

We invite semi-finalists to make the most of their selection by announcing it on social media, and including a link to this announcement on their website or blog. 

Here is a sample announcement:

"Great News! I've just been selected as a semi-finalist in the (blank) division of The American Prize National Non-profit Competitions in the Performing Arts. Here's the link: (copy link here). The American Prize will be announcing finalists in my division soon. You can learn more about this prestigious national competition here: www.theamericanprize.org or follow the news on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-American-Prize-celebrating-American-excellence-in-the-arts/214320622728 or Twitter: https://twitter.com/americanprize "

Please feel free to modify or expand this announcement to suit your needs.

Congratulations to all semi-finalists.