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Emerging Artist Opportunities

The excitement of discovering a promising new musician is like hearing your favorite piece of music for the first time. At Noontime Concerts we believe that gifted emerging artists will shape the future of classical music. That’s why it is our privilege and our commitment to offering young talented musical artists in the early stages of their careers a chance to play in our concert series.

The Helen von Ammon Fund for Emerging Artists provides scholarship-based live performance opportunities for gifted and talented young musicians on the threshold of amazing careers. A Noontime Concerts opportunity for these special artists becomes a memorable experience for all of us who are so lucky to see and hear them play.

Featured Emerging Artist for December 12, 2023

Connor Roham, Piano

Frédéric Chopin

Nocturne Op. 62, No. 1

Barcarolle Op. 60

Sonata Op. 58

Polonaise Op. 53

Connor Roham, 17, is a pianist and composer from San Ramon, CA. He has been a prize winner of many national and international piano competitions since he was 7. He has performed in Carnegie Hall at Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall in New York City among other prestigious venues in Europe and the US both in solo and with orchestra performances. Connor has appeared in KTVU Fox2 Morning on 9 and ABC7 San Francisco and New York, and several online publications. Connor is an academic young scholar with the Davidson Institute for Profoundly Gifted Youth and a certified member of the American Mensa.

 

The Helen von Ammon Fund for Emerging Artists

Helen von Ammon
August 2, 1922 – January 31, 2014

As an artist, Helen von Ammon was particularly sensitive to obstacles encountered by artists of all persuasions on the path to recognition and success. Whether in the applied or the musical arts, artistic expression can be fettered by commercialism, perceived marketability, and myriad other constraints. The Helen von Ammon Fund was established to provide talented musical artists the chance to express the depth and breadth of their capabilities. So, it is with gratitude for Helen’s vision and generosity that Noontime Concerts provides professional musicians beginning their careers with an important performance opportunity, exposure, and recognition.

Ross McKee Piano Competition

Each year The Ross McKee Foundation produces a piano competition open to high school students. Up to four contestants are selected to be Ross McKee Young Artists. These laureates receive a prize of $1,500 and participate in a public recital.

Irving M. Klein International String Competition

Since its inception in 1985, the Klein competition of its kind, and has helped launch the careers of many performers. Mr. Klein, who died in 1984, devoted himself untiringly to the development of young artists. He was extraordinarily sensitive to their human as well as musical needs. His friends, colleagues, and students who established the Competition in his memory sought to imbue it with his unusual qualities of empathy with and generosity to young musicians. Parallel to the guiding principles of the Helen von Ammon Fund, the Klein Competition seeks to provide recital opportunities, recognition, and assistance to accomplished musicians in the early stages of their careers. Noontime Concerts has been honored to present Klein Competition winners under the auspices of the von Ammon Fund. We look forward to featuring other Klein artists in the 2016 season.

The Klein Competition takes place each year in June at San Francisco State University and at Herbst Theater in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.kleincompetition.org. We encourage anyone interested in fostering young musical careers to make a tax-deductible gift to Noontime Concerts designated to The Helen von Ammon Fund. Recitalists are also encouraged to submit a demonstration tape or CD along with a resume for consideration to:

Helen von Ammon Fund
Noontime Concerts
660 California St
San Francisco, CA 94108