The Louisville String Academy is now officially on the map of elite pre-college music programs thanks in large part to the nearly quarter-million dollar grant recently awarded by the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation.
Begun just a few years ago at the University of Louisville’s School of Music, the Academy describes itself as “a program providing unique opportunities for dedicated young string players to realize their full musical potential, within a community of motivating and nurturing faculty.” Led by Academy director Brittany MacWilliams among other School of Music faculty, the program offers masterclasses, chamber music, music theory and concerto performance opportunities to its advanced protégés.
MacWilliams explained to The Strad magazine that “the goal of the Louisville String Academy is to train and inspire these dedicated students and to prepare them for professional performing careers. We are incredibly grateful for the support of the Starling Foundation to grow our program.”
Aiming to support classical violin study at the highest level, the Houston-based Starling Foundation is certainly well known to crème de la crème music programs around the country. This year, grants were also awarded to the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (where MacWilliams was previously director of the Starling Preparatory String Project) and the Indiana University String Program, both known for fostering and producing powerhouse young talent.
The Academy plans to use Starling’s support over the next three years for student scholarships, expanding performance opportunities and hiring guest artists. Auditions for this year’s program will be on September 6th. More information can be found here .
(Photo courtesy of U of L School of Music.)
