2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipients, from left: Mackenzie Melemed, Steven Banks, Ji Su Jung, Jonathan Swensen, and Randall Goosby.
Over the years, the Avery Fisher Career Grants have helped to launch the careers of some 166 outstanding young musicians. This year’s grants broke new instrumental ground: for the first time, awards went to a percussionist and a saxophone player. The 2022 Career Grant recipients are: Steven Banks, saxophone; Randall Goosby, violin; Ji Su Jung, marimba and solo percussion; Mackenzie Melemed, piano; and Jonathan Swensen, cello. The winners were announced on March 22 at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in Manhattan, where the musicians gave a concert that was livestreamed on classical music station WQXR. The Career Grants of the Avery Fisher Artist Program give professional assistance and recognition to talented emerging instrumentalists. Each recipient is given an award of $25,000, to be used for advancing a career. Additionally, the recipients’ performances at the Career Grant announcement are professionally recorded for their unrestricted use, posted online, webcast live, and later broadcast and streamed by WQXR.
