Media Inquiries:
Dantes Rameau
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Atlanta Music Project
678-235-4267 | dantes@atlantamusicproject.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATLANTA MUSIC PROJECT ANNOUNCES CELLIST STERLING ELLIOTT AS ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE FOR 2023 AMP SUMMER SERIES
MR. ELLIOTT’S RESIDENCY TO INCLUDE MASTERCLASS & SOLO PERFORMANCE WITH AMP SUMMER SERIES FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
(Atlanta, GA) (April 25, 2023) — The Atlanta Music Project announces cellist Sterling Elliott as Artist-in-Residence for the 2023 AMP Summer Series. Mr. Elliott’s residency at AMP will culminate with his performance as soloist in the Cello Concerto in A Minor by Camille Saint-Saëns, with the AMP Summer Series Festival Orchestra under the direction of conductor John Young Shik Concklin.
Now in its eighth straight year, the Atlanta Music Project Summer Series is a 4-week music festival and school, based in the Capitol View neighborhood in Southwest Atlanta. The 2023 AMP Summer Series will feature symphony orchestra, string orchestra, wind ensemble, choir, chamber ensembles and several concerts by AMP students, faculty, and guest artists. The AMP Summer Series serves novice, intermediate and advanced musicians in grades 4 through 12.
Mr. Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Grant Recipient and winner of the 2019 Sphinx Competition, a national competition for Black and Latinx string players. He has performed as soloist with, among many others, the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Sterling completed both his Bachelors (BM ’21) and Masters (MM ’23) degrees at The Juilliard School as a recipient of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship. He will be pursing an Artist Diploma at Juilliard under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sterling Elliott as Artist-in-Residence for the 2023 AMP Summer Series,” stated Dantes Rameau, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlanta Music Project. He continued, “I am particularly grateful that our students and families will have the opportunity to experience Mr. Elliott’s prodigious artistic talent as a performer, an educator, and mentor, right here in our community. Thank you to Mr. Elliott for being a special part of AMP’s world-class music training and performance opportunities for Atlanta’s youth.”
Sterling Elliott stated, “I am honored and excited to accept the invitation to be the Artist-in-Residence for the Atlanta Music Project’s 2023 AMP Summer Series,” He continued “I look forward to collaborating and performing with AMP’s students and faculty, and I thank the Atlanta Music Project for the opportunity to support their mission: empowering youth to realize their possibilities through music.”
Mr. Elliott’s residency at the 2023 AMP Summer Series will be comprised of performing, teaching, mentoring and curated talks. Most parts of the residency will be ticketed events and open to the public.
Mr. Sterling’s residency schedule is as follows:
June 8 9:00am Masterclass
Cello Masterclass with Sterling Elliott featuring AMP Summer Series Students
Atlanta Music Project Center for Performance & Education 883 Dill Ave SW Atlanta, GA 30310
June 8 6:30pm Fireside Chat
Fireside Chat with Sterling Elliott
Atlanta Music Project Center for Performance & Education 883 Dill Ave SW Atlanta, GA 30310
June 9, 2023 12:45pm Mentorship Session (private event)
Mentorship and Q&A Session with Sterling Elliott and AMP Summer Series Students
Atlanta Music Project Center for Performance & Education 883 Dill Ave SW Atlanta, GA 30310
June 9, 2023 7:00pm Opening Night 2023 AMP Summer Series
Sterling Elliott performing Cello Concerto in A Minor by Camille Saint-Saëns
John Young Shik Concklin, conductor
AMP Summer Series Festival Orchestra
B.E. Boykin, conductor
AMP Summer Series Festival Choir
Sylvan Hills Middle School 1461 Sylvan Road SW Atlanta, GA 30310
About Sterling Elliott
Acclaimed for his stellar stage presence and joyous musicianship, cellist Sterling Elliott is a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and the winner of the Senior Division of the 2019 National Sphinx Competition. Already in his young career, he has appeared with such major orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Detroit Symphony, and the Dallas Symphony, with noted conductors Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Thomas Wilkins, Jeffrey Kahane, Bramwell Tovey, Mei Ann Chen and others. Last summer, he made his Aspen Festival debut, performing the Brahms Double Concerto with Gil Shaham, and he made his German debut in Munich in May 2022, performing chamber music with Daniel Hope.
The 2022-2023 season will see his debuts with the Colorado Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and Ft. Worth Symphony, among others, with return appearances including the Buffalo Philharmonic. He will appear in recital under the auspices of the San Francisco Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, Shriver Hall in Baltimore, the Tippet Rise Festival and Capitol Region Classical in Albany, NY. In October he participated in the Caramoor Music Festival’s prestigious Evnin Rising Stars series, a weeklong program of coaching and chamber music culminating in a performance in Katonah, NY.
Fast becoming a favorite on the summer festival circuit, Sterling has appeared at Music@Menlo, Chamberfest in Cleveland and Chamberfest Northwest in Calgary, Music at Angel Fire and the La Jolla Music Society.
As the youngest of three siblings, Sterling did not want to play the cello but the violin like his older brother and sister. After a bit of encouragement, he completed The Elliott Family String Quartet by learning to play the cello at the age of three under the direction of Suzuki Cello teacher Susan Hines.
He went on to make his concerto debut at the age of 7 by winning the Junior Division of the PYO Concerto Competition, and later the 2014 Richmond Symphony Concerto Competition and the Bay Youth Orchestra of Virginia Concerto Competition.
Sterling has a long history with the Sphinx Organization where he first received 2nd place in the 2013 National Sphinx Competition Junior Division, then won the 2014 Junior Division. In 2016 he received the Organization’s Isaac Stern Award and toured with the Sphinx Virtuosi in 2018 before winning in 2019.
Sterling is a two-time alum of NPR’s From the Top where he was a recipient of a scholarship from The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and performed several concerts in Switzerland at the 2019 World Economic Forum. He is a Young Strings of America ambassador for SHAR Strings.
In 2019, he was the first recipient of The National Arts Club’s Herman and Mary Neuman Music Scholarship Award. In Spring 2022, Sterling participated in Performance Today’s Young Artist Residency, which featured educational events, interviews and a feature on the nationally syndicated radio program.
Sterling completed both his Bachelors (BM ’21) and Masters (MM ’23) degrees at The Juilliard School as a receipt of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship. He will be pursing an Artist Diploma at Juilliard under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick and Clara Kim.
Sterling performs on a 1741 Gennaro Gagliano cello on loan through the Robert F. Smith Fine String Patron Program, in partnership with the Sphinx Organization.
About the Atlanta Music Project
Founded in 2010, the Atlanta Music Project provides world-class music training and performance opportunities supporting youth growth and development. Operating in under-resourced communities, AMP’s mission is to empower youth to realize their possibilities through music. In addition to four after-school learning sites providing band, orchestra and choir instruction, AMP’s programs include: the AMP Preparatory School, providing beginner choir and orchestra classes; the AMP Academy, providing advanced musical training to AMP’s most talented and dedicated students; the AMP Summer Series, a music festival and school; and the AMP Youth Orchestras and Choirs. AMP also recently launched a college scholarship program supporting AMP alumni pursuing four-year college degrees. With a 2022-2023 projected operating budget of $2.2MM, AMP will serve 400 young musicians.
AMP music ensembles perform more than 50 concerts annually, performing in venues all across Atlanta, from community centers to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. AMP music ensembles have performed alongside international stars such as the Harlem Quartet, electric violinist Lindsey Stirling, pianist Terrence Wilson, soprano Alison Buchanan, rapper Lecrae, R&B singer Monica, and the Imani Winds. AMP musicians can be seen performing with rapper T.I. on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series. AMP’s young musicians have successfully auditioned for Georgia All-State ensembles, the Atlanta Opera, and have concertized as far away as Los Angeles, Aspen, Mexico City and Scotland.
AMP is a 2019 winner of ArtsATL’s Luminary Award for Arts Education and a 2018 winner of Emory University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award. In 2016 and 2017, the White House named AMP one of the top 50 youth arts programs in the nation.
AMP’s existence is a direct result of the 2009 TED Prize, which was awarded to Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu, founder of Venezuela’s El Sistema. AMP’s co-founders were members of the Sistema Fellows Program at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
AMP’s current and past funders include Carnegie Hall, PwC, Georgia Power, Bank of America, the Chick-fil-A Foundation, the Coca-Cola Foundation, Mailchimp, The Zeist Foundation, the Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation, the Harland Charitable Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Fulton County Arts Council, Georgia Council for the Arts, Georgia Music Foundation and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.
AMP’s partners and collaborators include the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation, Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton State University, and the Chestnut Family Foundation.
AMP is a member of “El Sistema USA,” the National Alliance of El Sistema Inspired Programs.
For more information visit http://www.atlantamusicproject.org
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