Prizes Announced at Switzerland's Paul Juon Chamber Music Competition

Trio Zeitgeist, the Loewe Quartett, and ensemble focus will receive a cash prize as well as a management package from the Swiss Chamber Music Society

The first edition of the Swiss-based Paul Juon Chamber Music Competition has recently come to a close. Held in the Kunsthalle Appenzell, the competition saw ten chamber ensembles present a program of 60 minutes in length — with the winners being offered a cash prize as well as a package of management perks.

Three ensembles were selected as the winners. They are Trio Zeitgeist (Tim Crawford, violin; Martin Egidi, cello; Martin Jollet, piano), the Loewe Quartett (Bastian Loewe and Livia Berchtold, violins; Juan Carlos Escobar Ossa, viola; Alina Isabel Morger, cello) and ensemble focus (Sarah-Maria Schmid, flute; Adèle Bagein, oboe; Daniela Engel, clarinet; Alexander Rauch, bassoon; Pauline Zahno, horn).

Each ensemble will receive a cash prize of CHF 2,000 ($2,240) per musician. In addition, they will receive a management package from the Swiss Chamber Music Society — which consists of a profile on their talent platform, management coaching, three years' worth of support with booking concert appearances, and a financial contribution of CHF 500 ($560) per musician towards artists’ fees for the tenure of the award.

The three groups will also appear at a charity concert, to be held in the recital hall of the Tonhalle Zürich in support of the non-profit literacy charity Room to Read.

"We are extremely grateful to have been selected as one of the three prizewinners and to receive the sponsorship from this foundation," said Martin Egidi, the cellist of Trio Zeitgeist. "We are also very happy to have had the opportunity to discover this great, and underappreciated, composer Paul Juon."