Gerber Awards 2019
This year's Fritz Gerber Award goes to violist Martina Kalt, oboist Marta Sanchez Paz and trombonist Francisco Olmedo Molina. The prize is awarded in the field of contemporary classical music.
The three will each receive prize money of CHF 10,000 and an additional scholarship in the form of participation in the Lucerne Festival Academy 2019 worth a further CHF 10,000.
Born in Switzerland in 1991, Martina Kalt studied viola with Geneviève Strosser and violin with Adelina Oprean at the Basel University of Music. She completed her bachelor's degree in 2015 at the Lübeck University of Music with Barbara Westphal. Since 2009, she has already gained a lot of orchestral experience, for example with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich.
Spanish oboist Marta Sanchez Paz, born in 1995, is currently studying at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne. She completed her Bachelor's degree in 2017 at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel under Emanuel Abbühl. In the 2019/20 season, she will complete an internship with the Basel Symphony Orchestra.
Francisco Olmedo Molina, born in Spain in 1990, completed his studies at the Zurich University of the Arts with David Bruchez and at the Basel University of Music with Mike Svoboda. For years, he has dedicated himself primarily to the contemporary repertoire and has already been engaged by the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Musikcollegium Winterthur and the Philharmonia Zurich. He also teaches trombone at "Superar Suisse".
The "Fritz Gerber Award" was announced for the fifth time this year via the Lucerne Festival Academy. Musicians were able to apply for the open call, and recommendations from universities and well-known artists were also once again accepted. This year's jury once again consisted of Michael Haefliger, Director of the Lucerne Festival, composer and conductor Heinz Holliger and lecturers from the Academy's Teaching Faculty.
