Five students of the International Music Academy Liechtenstein (IMAL) attended a leadership seminar in Washington, DC from March 13 – 21. They traveled to the US upon the generous invitation by Dr. Ryuji Ueno, founder of the Ryuji Ueno Foundation, which hosted and sponsored this unique program. It aimed to enhance their skills at being a professional performing artist, focusing on the United States.
Dr. Ueno is a major supporter of classical music in the greater Washington, DC area and is himself a dedicated amateur flutist. His support for the arts has resulted in his receiving the Mayor’s Art Award for Visionary Leadership at the 30th Annual Mayor’s Arts Award (2015) and the Business Philanthropist of the Year Award from the Washington Business Journal (2015). Dr. Ueno first caught attention of the Liechtenstein Academy after a performance of IMAL students in Washington in January 2015.
Mario Häring, Ruña ‘t Hart, Emma Kroon and twins Mayu Konoe and Takehiro Konoe were the five IMAL students attending lectures as well as training modules and receiving coaching lessons. The artists also travelled to Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA, where they met with students and engaged in an exchange of experiences.
Their time in DC included a brief performance attended by Liechtenstein Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick during an event at the residence of Ambassador Fritsche as well as an appearance at a reception at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.
The highlight of their visit, bringing the leadership program to conclusion, was a concert at Evermay Mansion in Georgetown on March 20 before 60 invited guests. During the “Afternoon of Chamber Music” the students performed the String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96 (also known as “The American") by Antonín Dvorák and Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 by Felix Mendelssohn.
The International Music Academy Liechtenstein offers highly talented musicians between 10 and 25 years of age the opportunity to receive up to five personal intensive coaching programs for an entire week, per instrument. The teachers are lecturers and artists with outstanding international reputations. The Academy offers students to benefit from a unique opportunity in pushing forward their young careers.