IBLA GRAND PRIZE
29th Anniversary
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Friday May 8, 2020 at 7.00 pm
in memory of Nancy J. Records

on the 500th Anniversary of Raffaello Santio's Legacy



photos of Carnegie Hall by Jeff Goldberg / ESTO

IBLA Foundation in New York City

George Records, IBLA Honorary Chair
Lady Dewi Sukarno, IBLA Founding Chairwoman
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Madsen, New York Gala Chairs
Dr. Salvatore Moltisanti, President

Dear Friends,

I am writing to request the honor of your presence on Friday May 8, 2020 at 7pm for our annual IBLA GRAND PRIZE Winners Concert at Carnegie Weill Hall in Memory of Nancy J. Records. A Black Tie Gala Dinner will follow the concert at DOUBLES, 783 Fifth Avenue in The Sherry-Netherland. We look forward with excitement to the 500th Anniversary of Raffaello Santio’s legacy as well as celebrating the 29th anniversary of the IBLA GRAND PRIZE as we honor the extraordinary talent of our winners. We are elated in sharing these milestones with you! Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for this very special occasion.

In over a quarter century more than 7,400 musicians from all corners of the earth have performed in the piazzas and palazzi of Ragusa-Ibla, Sicily. The entirety of this beautiful Sicilian enclave, known for its baroque architecture and ancient monuments, is currently designated as one of the largest UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These musicians, together with their friends and family, a group of more than 24,000 visitors over the years, spend ten days immersing themselves in the culture of Ragusa-Ibla. Young, bright, intelligent and curious, they take trips to the beach, visit neighboring municipalities, shop at local stores while still maintaining their rigorous practice and performance schedules. As a result, the streets of Ragusa-Ibla come alive with music.

The IBLA Foundation has presented over 700 IBLA GRAND PRIZE Winners in first tier venues such as Carnegie Weill Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, KIOI Hall and Tokyo Opera City Hall in Japan, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, as well as at prestigious universities in the USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Russia, Georgia and Europe. In nearly three decades we have also engaged in a very successful outreach program, which has enriched the lives of over 23,000 students in Arkansas and Virginia, allowing our musicians to experience the heartland of America as well as its most important cultural centers. IBLA Winners have been presented on major television programs like the American Pulitzer Prize winner Martin Bernheimer’s series “Living Young Artists” series for MSNBC and “The Late Show with David Letterman” on CBS.

The IBLA Foundation benefits entirely from the generosity of our family of hardworking volunteers, musicians, artists, doctors, lawyers, professionals in various fields of expertise, who do not hesitate to offer their support and advice to promote the success of our activities. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the IBLA Foundation, I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you who enable us to nurture the careers of young artists, thus ensuring a future enriched with dedication, discipline, hard work and the joys of beautiful music.

With gratitude,
Dr. Salvatore Moltisanti

***

IBLA Foundation was founded on the 500th Anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s journey to America 1492-1992

"The IBLA Grand Prize International Music Competition, celebrating this
year its 28th Anniversary, has become one of the world’s cultural treasures.
Held each year in early Summer in the magnificent southeastern corner of
Sicily, in the quietly beautiful and charming Baroque city of Ragusa-Ibla,
this competition has proven to be a consistent and world-class showcase for
musical talent of the highest order. The competition’s founder,
Dr. Salvatore Moltisanti, himself a pianist, has created an atmosphere
that encourages openness to any and all forms of music, allowing presentations
of all musical styles as well as instruments (this has included several types
of jazz ensembles, domra virtuosos, accordionists, folk singers and many
others from outside the classical mainstream, as well as instrumental and
vocal performers of standard and contemporary repertoire), and creating a
place where the ideas of wonderfully talented people can be nurtured in
a spirit of international respect. 
This event, has we have come to expect, will surely be the best possible
evidence of this success, presenting musicianship of the highest order.

IBLA is the name of the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE ancient Baroque
quarters of Ragusa - Ibla, the southernmost province of Italy in
Sicily. Ragusa and Ibla are two sister cities built on two 300 m.
hills. Ibla is the ancient city and Ragusa is the more modern one. The
Monti Iblei that surround the area take the name from the ancient
Ibla. The Mediterrenean coast line is only 18 minutes away. It overlooks
the island of Malta"

by Jeffrey James, Editor, International Composer

***

IBLA GRAND PRIZE WINNERS

Michael Barimo, Whistler - USA
Alessio Cappello, Piano / Composer - ITALY
David Cieri, Piano / Composer - USA
Jim Erickson, Piano / Composer - USA
Haruna Furukawa, Flute - JAPAN
Alexander Kato-Willis, Piano / Composer - USA
Tamara Licheli, Piano - GEORGIA
Wieslaw Ochwat & Maciej Zimka, Accordion Duo - POLAND
Elizabeth Ojeda, Harp - USA
Adriano Leonardo Scapicchi, Piano - ITALY
Akihiro Takiyama & Mika Teranagane, Piano Duo - JAPAN
Rika Yu, Voice - USA / CHINA
Eric Yun, Piano - USA