Early Music Vancouver’s Emerging Artist Competition
We are proud to announce the winners of our 2024 Emerging Artist Competition! Keyboardist Eliot Xaquin Dios (Spain-Switzerland) in first place for his baroque reconstruction of the famous ballet The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky; violinist Marina Eichberg (Palestine-Germany) whose project focused on string quartet music written in the second half of the 18th century, in second place; and serpent player Alexander Besler (Canada) in third place for his exploration of lesser known wind instruments of early music and their repertoire, in particular the rarely heard serpent.
About The Competition
This is an online contest for emerging artists under 30 years old from around the world. Applicants were invited to create a project based on the following theme: “The future of Early Music”: what might the next generation of early music and musicians sound and look like?
“It has been remarkable to see the variety of talented submissions from young artists across Europe and North America for this year’s competition. By fostering the next generation of early musicians, EMV hopes to secure a diverse and vibrant future for the field of historical performance.” – Suzie LeBlanc, Artistic & Executive Director of EMV
An initiative begun in 2023, the EMV Emerging Artist Competition was the brainchild of Competition Coordinator Julia Halbert, who was inspired by the newly-minted Next Generation program at EMV, which gives early-career musicians the opportunity to perform at the annual Summer Festival. The Competition’s goal is both broader artistically and geographically, with the goal of providing a platform for young artists in the field of historical performance (music before c. 1800) to showcase their research and artistic talents.
“Our 2024 Competition winners demonstrated a strong knowledge of the field, admirable musicianship, and an enthusiasm for discovery and thinking “outside the box”,” says Halbert. “From pieces of the classical canon “reimagined” for baroque instruments to highlighting lesser-known instruments and their repertoire, the winning projects are strong contributions to the ever-expanding field of historical performance.”
This initiative is generously sponsored by Joanie and Samantha Anderson
First Place: Eliot Dios
“It’s a great honour to receive a prize for such a personal project and it gives me a lot of hope that thanks to initiatives like these, young artists can start having their place in the world.” – Eliot Dios on winning the 2024 Emerging Artist Competition
About Eliot
Eliot Xaquin Dios (Galicia, 1997) is a harpsichordist, pianist and composer currently based in Basel. Since the age of seven he has been in contact with many instruments, from violin to euphonium, from bagpipe to Irish flutes, but now he is a specialist in early keyboards, performing throughout Europe with his ensembles, improvising in his concerts and composing for his own projects. A self-taught composer, he is mainly focused in the task making historical composition alive but he also does contemporary music projects from time to time.
He is the co-founder of two chamber groups, the award-winning Vestigium ensemble with which he won 1st price in Juventedes Musicales competition (Spain) and Il Concerto Intempestivo with which explores the new creative ways of perform early music. He also holds the 1st price in the Concourse International Val du Loure (France) as an invited artist with ensemble TRA NOI. Together with the virtuoso violinist Rahel Boell, he forms the Duo Luar, where they explore new ways of performing early music, mixing historical improvisation and contemporary practices in their concerts.
He holds a Master’s degree in harpsichord performance from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, a Bachelor’s degree from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and has received lessons from renowned musicians in the field of early music, like Richard Egarr, Andrea Marcon and Beatrice Martin, among many others, and in the field of composition from Anton Garcia Abril.
He has performed in internationally renowned concert venues such as the Utrecht Early Music Festival (Fabulous Fringe), AMUZ (Antewerpen), Festival de Musica Antiga Rosa do Mundo (Portugal), Telemann Festage (Magdeburg, Germany) and Festival de Úbeda y Baeza (Spain). He is currently extending his training with a specialized master in historical improvisation in the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.
Watch his winning application:
Watch more of his work on his YouTube Channels: https://www.youtube.com/@eliotdios312 & https://www.youtube.com/ilConcertoIntempestivo
Follow his ensemble on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/il.concerto.intempestivo/
Second Place: Marina Eichberg
“I am so touched by the fact that my Project that focuses on the historical string quartet has been chosen to be the runner-up. If I had to choose one genre as my favourite, it would be that of the string quartet, and to be able to showcase a project that lies so close to my heart while also playing on period instruments is one of my dreams come true, as it unites my passion for historical practice and string quartet together. I am so excited for the execution of my project, and I am sure it is the start of a very interesting adventure.” – Marina Eichberg on winning 2nd Place in the 2024 Emerging Artist Competition
About Marina
Born in 1994, Palestinian-German violist Marina Eichberg started her studies at the age of 11, at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Bethlehem. After finishing high school she decided to pursue her music education further in Germany, she has obtained her Bachelor Degree from the Cologne Academy of Music and Dance. with Prof. Werner Dickel and completed her Master Studies at the University of Music in Detmold with Prof. Diemut Poppen.
Throughout her studies she has shown great interest in chamber music and orchestra projects, she has participated in various academy projects like the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Academy (2019) and the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival (2020) where she was given the position to lead the viola section under the baton of Andris Poga.
As far as chamber music is concerned, she has been coached by numerous artists who have impacted her a great deal, like Casals Quartet, Auryn Quartet, Amandine Beyer, Leila Schayegh, and Veronika Skuplik among others.
Since early on in her studies, she has shown great interest in Historical performance, and has decided to pursue it as a career. She is currently enrolled in a specialized Masters Programme focusing on Classical and Romantic Historical Practice in Saintes, having viola lessons under the mentorship of Corina Golomoz Julien Chauvin.
Her Historical orchestral experience includes playing as an academician with Les Arts Florissants, with Ophelie Gaillard in the Emerging European Ensembles Orchestra Academy, with the MA Festival Baroque Orchestra Academy, and soon with The Orchestre des Champs-Élysées.
Watch her application:
Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marina.eich/
Third Place: Alexander Belser
“I am deeply grateful to Early Music Vancouver for this award. I look forward to posting more on YouTube and getting my channel up and running!” – Alexander Belser on winning Third Place in the 2024 Emerging Artist Competition
About Alexander
Alexander Belser is a Montréal-based musician who specializes in the serpent and ophicleide, bass wind instruments that are the ancestors of the tuba and euphonium. Alex is currently finishing his DMus thesis at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in the field of Early Music. Before moving to Montréal, he received a Master of Arts degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Music and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Alex’s main research interests involve the rediscovery and dissemination of the musical activities of the religious orders of Québec in the 17th and 18th centuries, the use of the ophicleide as a chamber and solo instrument in the 19th century, and the organological (re)development of these instruments as it corresponds to modern reproductions.
Some upcoming engagements include presentations at the Gregorian Institute of Canada’s 2024 conference in Montréal on June 23rd and at the Historic Brass Society’s 2024 symposium in New York City on July 11th.
Watch his application:
About his application:
This video project is a short demo video for a series of videos I intend to make about the lesser known wind instruments of early music and their repertoire. As a serpentist I have used my own instrument as the basis for this video. The musical example in this video is of myself.
Watch more of his work on his new YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AerisInTempore
Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsawaltz/
Panel of Judges
- Chloe Meyers, Pacific Baroque Orchestra’s concertmaster
- Jessica Korotkin, 2023 Next Generation cellist
- Hank Knox, keyboardist
Learn about last year’s winners
First Place: Emily Saville | Second Place: Matylda Adamus | Third Place: Ian Sabourin
“Early Music Vancouver’s Emerging Artist Competition has inspired me to continue exploring the benefits of historical performance practice in music education. By taking a vocal approach to instrumental teaching, I aim to maximise the creative potential within my students, and I am now developing a method to apply this concept to working with musicians at all levels. Winning the competition has helped me to share my ideas more widely, and I have since been asked to collaborate with both fellow teachers and performers to explore the intrinsic link between vocal and instrumental performance practice.” – Emily Saville, inaugural competition winner
