Javier Moreno Sanchez and Octavio Vasquez First to Arrive Under New Partnership
January 22, 2018 – Peterborough, N.H. – The MacDowell Colony, the nation’s first artist residency program, will welcome two composers as the first to be awarded Fellowships under a new partnership with the Spain-USA Foundation. Javier Moreno Sanchez is a double bass player and composer working on a piece for the Icarus Ensemble to premiere in Washington, D.C., and Octavio Vazquez is a composer working on a clarinet concerto to be premiered by clarinetist José Franch-Ballester in 2019-2020.
“These two talented composers are evidence of a proud legacy going back to 1935 when MacDowell welcomed Brazilian composer Burle Marx as its first artist from overseas,” said Executive Director Cheryl A. Young. "Currently MacDowell awards 30 fellowships – or 10 percent of its awards each year – to international artists to exchange ideas with their peers from the global community. Since 1907, the Colony has consistently looked for new ways to extend its mission internationally and the new partnership with the Spain-USA Foundation helps us toward that end.”
The new support provides assistance with travel expenses of up to $1500 for a Spain-based artist and up to $500 for a U.S.-based artist of Spanish nationality, plus a stipend for expenses incurred during the residency. This new joint program with Spain-USA will support MacDowell’s ongoing diversification of its residency program.
“Throughout its history, Spain has absorbed diverse cultural and musical influences from all over the world and exerted its own across different styles and genres, notably in the U.S. There is no denying that musicians thrive through collaboration with other musicians, and these exchanges provide rich human experiences and ultimately bring about innovation in music,” says Embassy of Spain Cultural Counselor Maria Molina. “The Spain-USA Foundation wishes to foster connections between talented emerging Spanish artists and U.S., Latin American, and others from the international music scene. We are therefore proud to engage with MacDowell to support this new partnership, and hope our relationship is longstanding and fruitful.”
These highly competitive fellowships, each with an average value of $10,000, provide MacDowell Fellows with a private studio for a period of up to eight weeks, accommodations and three meals a day at one of the nation’s leading contemporary arts programs.
Contemporary for 110 years:
The MacDowell Colony is a contemporary arts organization that nurtures artists in seven disciplines, annually presenting more than 300 diverse emerging and established boundary-pushing artists with MacDowell Fellowships awarded by competitive peer review. Located on 450 wooded acres in New Hampshire, MacDowell also awards the Edward MacDowell Medal annually and engages a wider public with the creative process through community and school programs that foster cultural dialog and expand appreciation for the arts. As the nation’s first artist residency program, MacDowell has been advancing artistic freedom since 1907, its 14,500 residencies leading to a legacy of award-winning artworks exhibited, published, and performed around the world.
SPAIN-USA Foundation:
Established in 1999, the Spain-USA Foundation (SUSAF), a District of Columbia non-profit, seeks to promote, support and develop a broad array of Spanish cultural, scientific, and educational activities in the United States with the goal of furthering greater cooperation and dialogue between Spain and the United States.
More Information:
Media Inquiries: Jonathan Gourlay at jgourlay@macdowellcolony.org or 603-924-3886, ext.114
