January 2005
International Musician , the publication of the American Federation of Musicians
Andrew J. Wan receives his Schnurmacher Fellowship from Music Performance Fund CEO John C. Hall Jr.
“Juilliard Violinist Wins Schnurmacher Fellowship”
Andrew J. Wan, a senior violin major at the Juilliard School, has been awarded the 2004 Schnurmacher Fellowship presented by the Music Performance Fund. The award includes a check for $2,500 and a framed certificate "in recognition of outstanding musicianship and toward further musical studies." The presentation was made by John C. Hall, Jr., trustee and CEO of the fund, which was created in 1948 by the recording companies of North America and the AFM as part of their collective bargaining agreement. Funding for the scholarship is provided by the Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation.
Andrew J. Wan, 21, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, is living in New York while attending Juilliard. The recording he submitted with his scholarship application included selections from Bach's Chaconne from Partita #2 in D Minor, and the first movement (allegro) from Beethoven's "Spring" Sonata.
Wan was nominated for the award by Local 390 (Edmonton, AB). Scholarship applicants are identified by AFM locals, which conduct searches in their various jurisdictions, working with local school music departments, music teachers, professional musicians, and others, to find qualified candidates.
Criteria for the Schnurmacher Fellowships also include submission of 10 minutes of a demonstration recording best representing the candidate's musicianship. For 2004, 60 entries from the United States and Canada were received and evaluated. Nineteen finalist recordings were presented to Professor Justin DiCioccio of the Manhattan School of Music, who made the final selection.