Southbank Sinfonia's Simon Over with other prize winners: Dame Judi Dench, Anish Kapoor and the Royal Court Theatre's Dominic Cooke.
Southbank Sinfonia is pleased to announce that it has received a prestigious award from the Japan Art Association. The Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists is given on an annual basis to organisations seen to nurture and develop young artistic talent – a concept core to Southbank Sinfonia’s mission. Previous award winners include Daniel Barenboim’s East-Western Divan Orchestra and the European Union Youth Orchestra.
The Praemium Imperiale is a global prize which acknowledges leaders in the arts field and aims to support the development of art and culture worldwide, with categories ranging from film & theatre to architecture. Amongst this year’s laureates were sculptor Anish Kapoor, actress Dame Judi Dench and conductor Seiji Ozawa.
The award ceremony at Claridges Hotel, in the presence of H.I.H Prince Hitachi, honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, was introduced by broadcaster and orchestra patron James Naughtie and Southbank Sinfonia’s award was received by Simon Over and Michael Berman with Katharine Verney and Stuart Angel in attendance.
Broadcaster and orchestra patron James Naughtie acted as compere for the event whilst Lord Patten of Barnes, who nominated Southbank Sinfonia for the award, made the announcement.
Simon, in a short speech of appreciation, thanked his fellow founders, the orchestra’s partners, its loyal supporters and its young players. The grant, which is shared with the Royal Court Theatre’s Young Writers Programme, amounts to 2.5 million yen (£18,500) for Southbank Sinfonia, a sum which, along with the award, will help the organisation to develop its international reach.
The announcement has received a great deal of press coverage, from publications such as The Guardian, The Telegraph and internationally in The New York Times and many more.
Celebrations continued with an evening reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, a dinner at Spencer House, and then a further black tie dinner at the British Museum.
For more information about the Praemium Imperiale, click here
