Fritz Gerber Award goes to Bognár, Morais Fernandes and Villar Martín

Phoebe Bognár, born in Australia in 1997, studied at the Hochschule für Musik Basel and the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA), among others. Her musical practice is characterized by a variety of genres, art forms and disciplines, including gestures, voice, various flutes, theater and electronics.

Santiago Villar Martín was born in Spain in 1998. He studied at the Frederyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw and currently at the Hochschule für Musik Basel. Villar Martín has already performed with ensembles such as Studio Musik Fabrik and the Basel Sinfonietta. He is also a co-founder of the experimental ICE 3 Ensemble and the Ex-Sentia Ensemble.

Born in Portugal in 1999, Francisco Morais Fernandes is currently completing his master's degree at the Bern University of the Arts (HKB). He has attended master classes with Katia Veekmans and Piotr Anderszewski, among others. Morais Fernandes is active as a soloist, ensemble and orchestral musician as well as a conductor.

Launched in 2015, the Fritz Gerber Award is awarded three times a year. The prize money amounts to CHF 10,000 each and also enables participation in the Lucerne Festival Academy in the amount of CHF 10,000 each. Candidates must have Swiss citizenship or have lived in Switzerland for at least three years. The competition is organized by the Lucerne Festival Academy. The jury is made up of Michael Haefliger, Director of the Lucerne Festival, and the composer and conductor Heinz Holliger.