The recipient of the 2004 Grant for Young Artists is

The Young Sound Forum of Central Europe

The Grant for Young Artists is an annual grant of 5 million yen (c.$45,000) given by the Japan Art Association to a group or institution that encourages the involvement of young people in the arts. The Grant for Young Artists was inaugurated to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Praemium Imperiale. Grantees to date are:

2003 De Sono Associazione per la Musica
2002 European Union Youth Orchestra
2001 Résidence du Festival
2000 Ulster Youth Orchestra
1999 Instituto Superior de Arte, Cuba
1998 National Film, Television and Theatre School, Lodz, Poland
1997 Hanoi National Conservatory of Music, Vietnam

2004 GRANT FOR YOUNG ARTISTS
The Young Sound Forum of Central Europe
The Young Sound Forum of Central Europe was created in 2000 when a group of talented young musicians came together with conductor Christoph Altstaedt in Germany to form an orchestra aiming to play outstanding pieces of contemporary music. The Young Sound Forum now connects 54 members from Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland who discuss, analyze, and present works from the three nations. The young musicians meet for work phases and intensive rehearsals, but receive no fees.
Vaclav Havel, Lech Walesa and Richard von Weizsäcker are patrons of the orchestra.

For information, please refer to the website: http//www.praemiumimperiale.org
or contact:
The Japan Art Association Tokyo
tel:(81 3) 5251 2245
fax:(81 3) 5251 2247

Claudine Colin　Paris
ccc@claudinecolin.com
tel:(331) 4272 6001
fax:(331) 4272 5023

Sandie Barker　London
sba@dial.pipex.com
tel:(4420) 7586 4604
fax:(4420) 7722 8761

Heesch＋Hogerzeil PR, Berlin
info@hh-pr.de
tel:(4930) 887 1243
fax:(4930) 887 12444

Francesca Martinotti　Rome
info@lagenzia.it
tel:(39 06) 8069 2424
fax:(39 06) 8066 9906

Lloyd Kaplan　NY
lkaplan@lakpr.com
tel:(1212) 575 4545
fax:(1212) 575 0519