Composer David Serkin Ludwig Receives Elise L. Stoeger Prize

In conjunction with today's Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's 2022-23 season announcement, American composer David Serkin Ludwig has been awarded the Stoeger Prize.

Having recently been appointed Dean and Director of the Juilliard School music division, Ludwig continues to lead an impressive compositional career and was named the world’s “Top 100 Composers Under Forty” by NPR. He has written orchestral, choral, solo, and chamber works — and received commissions and notable performances by artists such as Jonathan Biss, Jeremy Denk, Jennifer Koh, Jaime Laredo, David Shifrin, eighth blackbird, the Dover and Borromeo Quartets, and the PRISM Saxophone Quartet.

The Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and National Symphony Orchestras, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the Dresden Music Festival have also performed his works.

Ludwig is a recipient of the Pew Center for the Arts and Heritage Fellowship, in addition to the Independence Foundation Fellowship and a Theodore Presser Foundation Career Grant. His additional awards come from New Music USA, the American Composers Forum, American Music Center, Detroit Chamber Winds, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

As an educator, Ludwig served on the composition faculty of The Curtis Institute of Music for nearly two decades.

"My first performance with CMS was in 1999 and I’ve been fortunate to have several other pieces played on its programs since," Ludwig told The Violin Channel. "Every time it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience for me as a composer to hear my music played at such a high level."

"Winning the Stoeger Prize is an incredible honor for me, as a composer passionate about writing chamber music and as a recently repatriated New Yorker. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center engages many of the most outstanding musicians in the world, and for these performers to play my music is a dream. I couldn’t be more grateful for this recognition and wish to thank CMS profoundly for this honor."

You can listen to one of Ludwig's chamber works below:

“Wu Han and I are delighted to recognize David Serkin Ludwig’s imaginative voice and significant contribution to the chamber music repertoire,” said CMS Artistic Directors Wu Han and David Finckel. “The jury was impressed with his work, describing it as having impeccable craft and excellent musicianship. It is a privilege to add David to this group of esteemed composers.”

A work by Ludwig will be performed as part of CMS’s New Milestones series on February 23, 2023. This series is devoted to the work of living composers, presenting four concerts with work by 20 composers from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

CMS's upcoming season will also hold four world premieres by composers Zosha Di Castri,  Julia Adolphe, Eric Nathan, and James Lee III. Other season highlights will include their July 2022 Summer Evenings, the CMS Winter Festival: The Magic of Schubert, and a Baroque Festival.

The main 2022-23 season begins on October 16, 2022, and runs through May 7, 2023, with performances at New York's Alice Tully Hall, the Rose Studio, and the Kaplan Penthouse. Audiences can catch the Emerson String Quartet in its final New York concert series, in addition to performances by the Calidore, Danish, Escher, Dover, and Orion String Quartets.