Vilcek Foundation to Award $150,000 to Immigrant Musicians

Next year's Vilcek Foundation Prizes will aim to serve immigrant artists who demonstrate outstanding early achievement in music — including composers, conductors, instrumentalists, and singers.

Since 2006, the prizes have been awarded annually to foster an appreciation for the arts and sciences. The categories rotate each year, and Music was chosen for 2023.  Applications are open through June 10, 2022.

"Music has a power to transport the listener and to evoke poignant aspects of the human experience — from the universal to the sublime," said Marica Vilcek, vice chairman and secretary of the Vilcek Foundation. With the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Music, we celebrate young immigrant musicians whose work transcends and resounds."

"Music permeates language and borders," commented Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel. "The physiological and emotional responses we experience when we hear a compelling rhythm or melody are part of what makes us human. With the 2023 prizes, we honor the contributions of immigrant composers, musicians, and conductors to the soundscape of the United States."

Eligibility Requirements

According to the Vilcek Foundation's website, applicants must:

• Have been born outside the United States of America to non-American parents.
• Not be more than 38 years old as of December 31, 2022 (born on or after January 1, 1984). ​​ Exceptions will be made for applicants who were born on or after January 1, 1982 and experienced career interruptions due to medical, military, parental or caregiving leave.
• Have lived in the United States for at least four years (or immigrated to the United States on or before December 31, 2018).
• Be one of the following: a naturalized citizen or a permanent resident of the United States; a H-1B or O-1 visa holder with a valid visa stamp; a H-4 visa holder with a valid EAD card; a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) relief; an asylee or an asylum seeker who has applied for asylum and has a valid EAD card.
• Have at least five years of professional experience in music.
• Not be enrolled as a full-time student.
• Have released at least three singles or albums on major or independent labels.
• Have lived in the United States for a total of at least four years.
• Intend to pursue a career in the United States.
• Not be a past recipient of the Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in any category.

You can apply for the 2023 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Music here

Established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, both of whom were immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia, the mission of The Vilcek Foundation is to honor immigrant contributions to the U.S., and more broadly to foster an appreciation of the arts and sciences.

It received inspiration from the couple's respective careers in biomedical science and art history. Since its start, the foundation has awarded over $6.4 million in prizes to foreign-born individuals and supported organizations with over $5.6 million in grants.