Vijay Iyer Named $30,000 Greenfield Prize Winner

Vijay Iyer

The Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Greenfield Foundation have announced that composer and pianist Vijay Iyer is the winner of the $30,000 Greenfield Prize, awarded this year in the field of music.

Iyer will receive the award at a special celebration dinner on April 1, 2012, in Sarasota, Florida. Serving on the jury that selected Iyer were Linda Golding, past president of Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. music publishers and founder of The Reservoir; Jennifer Koh, solo violinist and prolific recitalist, and Limor Tomer, general manager of concerts and lectures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Bruce E. Rodgers, executive director of the Hermitage, noted, “We look forward to April 1 when we not only present Vijay with the prize, but also begin the two-year process of working with him and provide whatever support he needs to realize his commission.”

The prize in the form of a commission is awarded annually, and rotates each year among three areas; drama, music, and a “wild card.” In the “wild card” years, the prize may be awarded in any field or combination of fields, or themes in an effort to accommodate new forms, fields, technologies, and the blending of traditional disciplines.

Details about the prize and the 2012 Greenfield Weekend are available here.

(—as reported on greenfieldprize.org)