Now In Our 26^th Year

    Helping exceptional young musicians has been the mission of The Young Musicians Foundation of Colorado (YMF) since the nonprofit organization was founded in 1984 by the late community benefactor, Walter F. Hellmich, J.D, of Englewood. Although he was an architect by profession, Dr. Hellmich was a dedicated violinist by avocation and he believed that young musicians pursuing a professional performance career in classical music must combine exceptional talent with proper training, adequate financing and the right opportunities to perform, in order to assure success on the concert stage.  With no paid staff, YMF devotes 93 percent of its operations budget to assisting the state’s most promising young classical musicians in this triangular endeavor.

        The Foundation's broad spectrum of support offers career-development stipends (based on age) for such needs as extra training beyond basic lessons and education, summer festivals, institutes and seminars, stage performances and out-of-state competitions, prestigious master classes, solo recitals, travel expenses, accompanist and audition fees, instrument upgrade costs and career counseling, if requested. Since 1984, a total of 125 musically gifted young Coloradans have been assisted in this fashion.  Five new recipients were added during the 2009-2010 biennium.

        Biennial selection of recipients of YMF support is by audition in the even-numbered years before an independent panel of professional, non-YMF judges chosen by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.  All current roster members must re-audition successfully to retain their berths.  There are no automatic carryovers.  Applicants  must be under age 24 on the audition dates (there is no minimum age) and MUST seriously aspire to a professional career in classical music as a soloist or ensemble player.  Solo instrument auditions to pick the YMF Support Roster for 2009-2010 took place at the end of December 2008.  Click on Auditions  to learn the results of those 2008 Auditions.

        YMF roster members perform at a variety of career-advancing functions throughout the year, including YMF-sponsored Audition Winner Concerts open to the general public.   "Showcase" events in the 2007 and 2008 YMF Series were presented at Bethany Lutheran Church and Newman Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Denver.   Previous hosts have been the Littleton Town Hall Arts Center, Colorado Gallery of the Arts at Arapahoe Community College, University of Colorado-Boulder School of Music, Houston Fine Arts Center in Park Hill (former DU-Lamont School site) and Augustana Lutheran Church. For information about the 2010 Concert Series at Newman Hall, click on  Showcase Concerts.

        In addition to staging its own musical events, YMF arranges performance opportunities for its roster members with area orchestras, local service clubs and civic groups.  It also has developed special public events collaboratively with the Denver Young Artists Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, former Denver Chamber Orchestra, Denver School for the Performing Arts and Denver Municipal Band.  It has published the NewsNotes newsletter since 1987.

 

 

Information about our organization will be updated regularly.

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