Sommets Musicaux honors female harpists
The 15th edition of the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad awarded Anaïs Gaudemard the Prix Thierry Scherz of the Pro Scientia et Arte Foundation and Coline Jaget the Prix André Hoffmann.
Anaïs Gaudemard studied harp and piano at the Marseille Conservatory with Fabrice Pierre in Lyon. In 2012, she won the special prize for the best interpretation of "The Crown of Ariadne" by Murray Schafer at the international harp competition in Israel. She received first prizes at the Torneo Internazionale die Musica in Rome in 2012, at the Festival Musical d'Automne des Jeunes Interprètes and at the Franz Josef Reinl Competition in Munich.
Coline Jaget was initially taught by her mother Helvia Briggen, solo harpist with the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2003, she joined Michèle Vuillaume's class at the Nice Conservatory. She graduated with top marks and distinction in 2009. She then joined Isabelle Moretti's class at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse. She is currently in the final year of her master's degree.
The Prix Thierry Scherz honors the co-founder and former artistic director of the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad festival. It enables the prizewinner to make a first CD recording with orchestra and guarantees its distribution. Anaïs Gaudemard thus has the opportunity to record a CD of works by Nicolai von Wilm, Alberto Ginastera and Einojuhani Rautavaara alongside the Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen Haute Normandie under the direction of Léo Hussain.
The Prix André Hoffmann, endowed with 5000 francs, rewards the best interpretation of a contemporary work. This year it was a work by the composer in residence at the Sommets Musicaux, Ivan Fedele, performed by Coline Jaget.
