G. Schirmer & Associated Music Publishers, part of Wise Music Group, is proud to announce Che Buford as the recipient of the 2024 G. Schirmer Prize for the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (GLFCAM). This award pays tribute to the invaluable work of Gabriela Lena Frank and further advances our mutual vision of fostering young composers' growth and advancement in the field, with an emphasis on supporting underrepresented populations.
Inaugurated in 2019, the G. Schirmer Prize offers recognition and mentorship for select works by composers who have taken part in either GLFCAM or Luna Composition Lab, another mentorship program founded by Missy Mazzoli and Ellen Reid. The G. Schirmer Prize offers mentorship from publishing industry professionals, networking opportunities, and a cash prize to composers from these programs on an annual basis.
About Che Buford
Che Buford (he, they) is an NYC-based artist whose work explores creating new narratives within the world of music while engaging in themes of memory and place.
Che performs as a violinist in various musical settings, specializing in improvisational performance, contemporary compositions, electroacoustic work, and interdisciplinary collaborations. As a composer, their work explores the possibilities of timbre and acoustical phenomena and connects them to elements of place, memory, poetry, and the everyday.
Upcoming highlights for the 2024-2025 season include the world premiere of a new solo violin and fixed media work written for renowned violinist Midori, as part of her 2025 recital season with performances at 92NY, The Celebrity Series of Boston, San Francisco Performances, and the Colburn Celebrity Series. A new work for visual artist Deborah Jack’s seven-panel video installation, co-composed, recorded, and produced by Diaphanous Ensemble, will be exhibited in fall/winter 2024 at the New Orleans Triennial. Finally, a debut solo album is set to be released in spring 2025.
Che holds a degree from Boston Conservatory at Berklee as a presidential scholar in violin performance. They are currently a DMA candidate at Columbia University in Music Composition. When Che isn’t interacting with music, he enjoys taking long walks, cooking vegan food, and thrifting.
“GLFCAM continues to be a nurturing, supportive family for me,” writes Buford. “The academy not only offers a collaborative and hands-on approach to learning craft, but also encourages you to embrace your individuality as a composer in a safe yet rigorous environment. I often reflect on the invaluable lessons I learned at GLFCAM as I navigate the field, and I feel immense gratitude and clarity in my artistic pursuits. I am deeply thankful to Gabriela Lena Frank for her wisdom and support, and to G. Schirmer for recognizing and supporting my work.”
“I am thrilled that the Wise Music Group, which became a partner to my music-making more than twenty years ago, has extended this recognition of the Schirmer Prize to Che Buford,” writes Gabriela Lena Frank. “Che came to our attention several years ago when we had already filled our fellowship seats. We therefore created a special seat for them as a special guest so that we could begin a relationship with this exceedingly talented artist sooner than later; they became a full Fellow in 2022 and we continue to work with Che now that they are a beloved Alum. Che’s music is visceral, brightly-hued, and filled with vitality. They are a shining light in these hard times. My hearty congratulations to both Che and my colleagues at the Wise Music Group for this award.”
“Our selection panel has unanimously chosen Che for the 2024 G. Schirmer Prize for GLFCAM,” notes Andrew Stein-Zeller, Director of Promotion for G. Schirmer. “We were all quite taken with Che’s writing. Their music is attractive, direct, and elegant on the page and in performance. It is truly a privilege to become acquainted with new generations of composers through the prism of Gabriela’s academy, which is a great force for radical empowerment in our community. Che has a bright career ahead, and we look forward to hearing their music in New York and around the world in the years to come.”
About GLFCAM
Founded in 2017 by internationally acclaimed composer and pianist Gabriela Lena Frank, GLFCAM helps composers of any aesthetic and demographic, and from emerging through mid-career levels, to develop self-determined 21st century lives. GLFCAM’s mission centers on the creative habit, community, and eco-citizenship, forming years-long relationships with composers. As a result, composers are provided a rich array of opportunities such as collaborating on new works with renowned performer-mentors; taking online classes and practicums; composing large scale symphonies under fair commission rates with readings of the work-in-progress; teaching in youth music programs in underserved rural areas; participating in a multi-year peer-supported study group on climate intelligence and the arts; and becoming skilled communicators – cultural witnesses – in both spoken and written word. GLFCAM alumni are leading composers in the international music fields as well as teachers and professors, non-profit administrators, therapists, hospice workers, and civic volunteers.
About G. Schirmer
Part of Wise Music Group’s international network of publishing houses, G. Schirmer, Inc. is the oldest continuously active North American classical music publisher. Through its international network of publishing houses, including Chester Music, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, Alphonse Leduc, and Edition Peters, the Group represents works by many of the most important creators from the 20th and 21st centuries, including Samuel Barber, Daniel Catán, John Corigliano, Donnacha Dennehy, Ludovico Einaudi, Duke Ellington, Julius Eastman, Gabriela Lena Frank, Charles Ives, George Lewis, Gian Carlo Menotti, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Sergei Prokofiev, Kaija Saariaho, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Bright Sheng, Tyshawn Sorey, Tan Dun, John Tavener, and Joan Tower.
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