The Solti Foundation is established to honor the memory of Sir George Solti
The Solti Foundation US has announced their 2017 Career Assistance Awards and Indian American conductors Roger Kalia and Sameer Patel made it to the list of nine winners.
The awards, which intend to assist young American conductors early in their professional career, were announced on June 1, by Penny Van Horn, Board Chair of the Solti Foundation US, and Elizabeth Buccheri, Artistics and Awards Committee chair.
“The Solti Foundation US is thrilled to announce the 2017 Career Assistance Award recipients,” Van Horn said in a statement. “These young conductors are part of the fabric of our future musical landscape, and we are proud to identify, support and encourage these young musicians in the early stages of their classical careers.”
Roger Kalia is the Co-Founder and Music Director of the Lake George Music Festival in upstate New York. He is also the Assistant Conductor of the Pacific Symphony and Music Director of Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra. Kalia is only the second assistant conductor in the Pacific Symphony’s history to have his contract extended for two additional years.
Kalia also served as Assistant Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony for two seasons and as Music Director of both the Young Musicians Foundation (YMF) Debut Orchestra of Los Angeles and Columbus Symphony Orchestra (IN). He was the cover conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, and Indianapolis Symphony. He received the Solti award in 2013 also.
Sameer Patel, who is an Associate Conductor of the San Diego Symphony, began his tenure as Associate Conductor of the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, this summer. Recipient of a 2016 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award, Patel is also a Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Scholar. In 2013, he was one of only six conductors selected by the League of American orchestras for the Bruno Walter National Conductor preview.
The Solti Foundation, established to honor the memory of Sir George Solti, established its award program in 2004 to exclusively assist outstanding young US conductors to further develop their talent and careers. Since then, it has awarded over $500,000 in grants to American conductors.
The Foundation is also concerned with the long-term development of its award recipients, continuing to offer support and maintaining a constant interest in their growth and achievements.