The winners of our second annual Classical Post Awards have been announced! This year, we’ve chosen a deliberate mix of classical music superstars and underdogs who have (and continue to) contribute to the art form in the “most innovative way.”

Alexey Shor didn’t set out to be a composer in the classical world—but now, this mathematicians and avid concertgoer has his music performed in major concert halls throughout the world, the United States included. Despite his composing career beginning later in his life, Alexey’s scores are performed by many international and acclaimed solo artist and ensembles, including Salvatore Accardo, Guy Braunstein, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Vadim Repin, Ingolf Wunder, and many more.  

This dynamic ensemble, the Attacca Quartet, has been lauded as one of the most talented, exquisite, and remarkable quartets of the generation by critics and audiences alike. They’ve won and been nominated for a number of awards (including their 2020 Grammy nomination with Caroline Shaw) and are consistently in-demand and sought after for performance around the world. Known for their mastery and maturity beyond their years, the Attacca Quartet is an ensemble that’s been succeeding since its inception. 

Under the leadership of Nicholas McGegan (who’s embarking on his fifth decade on the podium and has long been hailed one of the “finest baroque conductors of his generation” [London Independent]), the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra is this year’s Classical Post Award-winner for Most Innovative Presenter, Orchestra Category. 

Under the direction of its general director Robert K. Meya and its artistic director Alexander Neef, the Santa Fe Opera’s mission is to advance the operatic art form by, essentially, providing the highest quality performances in the most unique setting, bringing about a varied repertoire of new, rarely performed, and standard works. 

In its 10th season, the Brooklyn Art Song Society continues to make first-rate music, earning its reputation as one of the preeminent organizations dedicated to the vast repertoire of poetry set to music. With a mission in mind to preserve art song’s direct expressiveness and emotional honesty, the Brooklyn Art Song Society continues to wow, educate, and provide a unique experience for today’s audiences and future generations. 

This not-for-profit organization is dedicated to supporting unconventional works in the visual and performing arts that are in desperate need of non-traditional spaces in order to properly convey their work, their message, and their vision. These non-traditional works need full spaces in order to reach their total realization, enabling artists to create, allowing people to experience, and encouraging audiences to consume adventurous presentations that cannot be mounted elsewhere.

In its 10th year, the acclaimed National Chopin Piano Competition presented by the Chopin Foundation of the United States has progressed with the times, rapidly innovating its form, function, and even its grand prize. The National Chopin Piano Competition announced that it was updating its cash award to $100,000 to its winner (the largest cash award in the United States). Designed to offer performance opportunities to young American pianists and enable the prize winners to take part in the 18th annual Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw (which recently told of its own exciting technological embrace with its announcement of live-streaming, highly-technologically advanced viewing opportunities). 

As the world undergoes a digital revolution, Primephonic asks, why isn’t classical music included? As a result, the genre has missed the mark, declining in popularity over the past several decades. This streaming platform addresses the unmet needs of classical music lovers worldwide, allowing them to finally stream and download nearly all classical music that’s ever been recorded in CD-quality on a single platform. 

Saxophone quartet Project Fusion was created not to just entertain, but inspire—even further, to promote camaraderie among artists through unique, innovative collaborations. Past winners of the 2015 Astral National Auditions, Project Fusion has been praised for creating engaging and communicative concerts that are made even more remarkable by their performance of complex, intricate pieces exclusively from memory. Of course, they’re known for much more than their memory—their performances are marked by signatures such as diverse musical programming that includes new music, arrangements, transcription, and the standard repertoire for a saxophone quartet. 

Well-known around the world for being one of the most popular brass ensembles in our modern era, Canadian Brass has certainly earned its distinction. First forming as a brass quintet, Canadian Brass has developed an engaging stage presence that’s entirely unique, showcasing their full range of talents in their trademark Baroque and Dixieland tunes, and even going so far as to compose their own music and playing arrangements made specifically for them. 

With her dynamic presence, ability to captivate an audience of any size, and her wide appeal as a high-profile advocate for classical music (which, admittedly, we love), Nicola Benedetti has become one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. A concerto performer at heart, Nicola is wildly in-demand with major orchestras. 

Billboard Chart-topping albums, Emmy nominated music videos, in-demand touring schedules taking them all over the country—it’s no secret that Anderson & Roe are the piano duo on everyone’s minds. A powerful piano duo (San Francisco Classical Voice even called them the “most dynamic duo of this generation”), Anderson & Roe are all about making classical music a relevant and powerful force in society. Now that’s a cause we can get behind. 

Bass Zachary James has been described and lauded for many bass-related traits. The most poignant of all? “A true stage animal” (Opera News). Zachary’s huge and robust bass, resonated with substantial force, is notably both “intrinsically beautiful” (Opera News) and “cavernous,” providing him with the vocal depth, color, and resonance to bring a voice to the stage unlike any other. 

A prominent choir since 1991, Conspirare is a Grammy-award winning and internationally recognized choir with a widespread reputation of “expanding the boundaries of choral performance” (Wall Street Journal). Led by founder and Artistic Director Craig Hella Johson, Conspirare (which means to breathe together in Latin), has had a stunning run—performing in concert halls and at festivals across the world, commissioning work from prominent composers, and bringing a commitment to new music and willingness to showcase a broad context through diverse programming. 

A Metropolitan Opera artist and a 2017 George London Foundation Award recipient, Aaron Blake is a tenor who’s earned international recognition for several roles, but most notably, his role as Timothy Laughlin in Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers. Though Aaron’s 2019/2020 season is filled with exceptional engagements—like a Walt Disney Concert Hall debut and his German and European debut as Michel in Bohuslav Martinu’s JULIETTA with Oper Frankfurt—the spotlight of Aaron’s career was his performance as The High Priest of Amon in Philip Glass’ Akhnaten. Praised for his “youthful fervor and endearing sweet sound” (New York Times), Aaron has found a firm home in a variety of repertoire.  

Quickly gaining a reputation as a singer of “striking vocal beauty and daring stagecraft,” Jakub Josef Orlinkski has been hailed by both critics and audiences for his “combined beauty of tone and uncommon unity of color and polish across his range” (New York Times). Jakub rose to rapid stardom following major competition wins on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council in 2016 as well as the Marcella Sembrich International Vocal Competition in 2015. 

Mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams, described as “strong and so assured,” is both polished and poised, charismatic and commanding as she negotiates the complexities and intricacies of her craft. A “fiery and gorgeous” mezzo-soprano (Opera News), Chrystal has sung leading roles with the Birmingham (U.K), Washington National, Knoxville, Sarasota operas, as well as the Opera Delaware, Caramoor, and many others. Chrystal holds degrees from the Yale School of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Academy of Vocal Arts. 

Described as “one of those exceptional things that appears, like a Haley comment, once every 10 years” (Notodo), Lisette Oropesa is one of the world’s most demanded presences in lyric coloraturas in our modern-day. With several successes and debuts in this current season alone—Opera National de Paris, Teatro alla Scala, the Teatro Real Madrid, and more—Lisette’s “endless supply of golden-age trills” (Opera News) and “brightly crystalline and arrestingly powerful” voice (New York Times) have made this Cuban-American soprano a must-witness performer, turning everything she touches into gold (Place de l’Opera).

The winners of the first-ever Classical Post Awards have been chosen, in which we have deliberately chosen a mix of both the superstars and the underdogs who have contributed in a “most innovative” way to the art form.