Brady
Lanier
Submitted:
April 11, 2016
Awarded
: $
1300
Contact Information:
Brady
Lanier
120 S. Kingston Dr., Apt. A11
Bloomington
IN
47408
USA
832-331-1355
Reference 1:
Catharina Meints
Reference 2:
Sarah Cunningham
Summary of Submitted Materials:
I can send an invoice for the Jane Julier viol.
Submitted Documents:
Submitted Recordings:
Committee Notes:
Project Description:
Wendy Gillespie has offered to sell me her very fine Jane Julier 7-string bass viol. I had been told by several respected viol teachers (Cathy Meints and Sarah Cunningham) at the 2014 Conclave that the instrument I was currently playing on (a Dominick Zuchowicz 7-string) was not sounding well enough to match my level of technique, and could hurt my career. I will sell my viol in order to purchase the Julier, but there will still be a significant price difference (I am asking $7500 o/b/o for my viol, I expect the Julier to cost in the vicinity of $10,000). I enrolled at Indiana University in the fall of 2013 and obtained my Masters in Viola da Gamba Performance in May 2015; I am now finishing my first year of doctoral studies. I am training to be a serious player and teacher; however, being back in school has taken a significant toll on my finances. I had to give up my teaching studio and performance career in Houston. My main source of income in Indiana is a very generous Assistant Instructor scholarship; it is difficult to find paying musical work in Bloomington. I have had to supplement my income with student loans every semester. It would not be feasible for me to purchase a new instrument at this time (and take advantage of this instrument becoming available) without some financial assistance.
Request Amount:
$
1500
Total Project Cost:
$
Budget and Additional Funding:
Qualifications:
I have more than twenty years of performing and teaching experience on the cello. I have been playing the viola da gamba since 2004 and quickly found myself in demand as a performer and teacher. I have performed on the gamba all over the country; with my consort quaver, as a solo performer, and as part of an ensemble in Bach passions and cantatas. I directed the Consort Cooperative program at the VdGSA Conclave from 2011-2012, leading a joyous arrangement of "Orange Blossom Special" at the 50th Conclave (which was broadcast nationally on NPR). I was a faculty member at Conclave 2013-4 and at the Texas Toot from 2013-15. I was President of Viols of Houston (a VdGSA chapter) from 2012-14. I have a BA in Music from Rice University ('92). I earned my Masters in Viola da Gamba Performance at Indiana University studying with Wendy Gillespie in 2015; I am now pursuing a doctorate and expect to finish coursework in 2018. I have been teaching viol and coaching a non-major viol consort as part of my Assistant Instructor duties. I expect to pursue a career in performing, teaching, composing, and arranging at a very high level.
Letter of Reference 1:
Reference from: CATHY MEINTS
April 12, 2016
I would like to recommend Brady Lanier for a Grant-in-Aid from the VDGSA. I only got to know him fairly recently but I have enjoyed watching him work as head of the Consort Collective and when he came to BPI to help Mary Anne Ballard with the beginning viol class. He joined the faculty concert for several of the Art of the Fugue pieces as well. So I have known him as an organizer, a teacher, a hard-working student performer and as a professional performer. I think he does very well at all those things and I think one of his main obstacles has been his instrument. I told him several years ago I thought it was holding him back. So I am delighted that he is making the leap to a better instrument. I strongly support him in his efforts to obtain this one and hope the Society can do what it does so well. He deserves it.
Catharina Meints
Letter of Reference 2:
Reference from: SARAH CUNNINGHAM
Sarah Cunningham
735 Millbrook Lane
Haverford PA 19041
610-787-1318
Historical Performance Faculty, The Juilliard School
sarahcunning@gmail.com
scunningham@juilliard.edu
April 12, 2016
To who it may concern:
Grant-in-aid for Brady Lanier
It's my great pleasure to recommend Brady Lanier for a Viola da Gamba Society of America grant-in-aid for the purpose of purchasing an instrument.
Brady came to me for a number of private lessons when preparing to audition for the Juilliard School. I was extremely impressed by the seriousness of his commitment, traveling from Texas to Philadelphia at his own expense, meticulously preparing a demanding audition program, and assimilating a great many significant technical changes and musical ideas I presented to him. Both during this time, and especially after the audition (which was not successful, even though Brady played well) I was very much aware of how the instrument he was playing was limiting his potential and holding him back.
His very successful studies at Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, where he is now pursuing a doctorate, have gone on to show just how broad and deep Brady's range of talents and abilities are. In addition to repertoire that spans much more than just the baroque, his creative activity in composition, arranging, electronic music, and more, and his integration of these fields with a rigorous approach to early repertoire and historically informed performance, indicate the enormous potential of his contribution to our musical life.
There is no question in my mind that Brady is deserving of every assistance in acquiring a viol of high professional and artistic quality.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with any further questions.
Sincerely,
Sarah Cunningham