Saxophonist,
Nick Russoniello has been named the inaugural winner of the Fine Music 102.5 Kruger Scholarship.
The 28-year-old is one of Australia’s most gifted emerging saxophonists and is creating a unique place for himself with exciting new repertoire for the saxophone.
Chairman of Fine Music 102.5, David Brett who was also a judge, presented the scholarship and gave an insight into the selection of Russoniello from among a host of exceptional applicants.
David said:
“Nick is already an accomplished professional musician and one could ask why, with such pedigree, he might need this scholarship. The fact is, Nick is taking ‘the road less traveled’ in that his chosen path is as a ‘classical’ saxophonist. You only have to stop and think how little classical repertoire there is for saxophone to realise the challenge he has set himself and the judges were impressed by his commitment and passion for his instrument.
“But this is no Don Quixote romantically tilting at musical windmills. He has the maturity already to overcome obstacles in his way and the judges were struck by his hard headed pragmatism and clear vision of a career path. For example recognising the shortage of repertoire he has written some of his own music and has encouraged other composers to write and arrange for him. Nick has a well thought out and well planned program to take his career to the next level.”
With the $10,000 windfall, and the support of Fine Music 102.5, Russoniello will record his debut solo album. Nick said: “The Fine Music Kruger Scholarship will mean that I can record this album in the station’s new studios with some of the best facilities available. The album will feature music that has been composed for me along with music that I’ve arranged and composed myself. I am very fortunate to have support from Sydney’s Acacia String Quartet for the recording and the album release will be promoted on a concert tour of Sydney, Perth, Newcastle, Wollongong, Melbourne and Hobart.”
“Releasing a solo debut album is a milestone for any emerging performer. It is an essential part of building an audience and documenting an emerging body of work. But, releasing high quality recordings, is expensive and practically unachievable for many emerging independent artist without assistance. I believe that this scholarship will help me become an established artist on the Australian musical landscape. As a ‘classical’ saxophonist I have worked to create my own unique repertoire and performance opportunities. Making a debut solo recording and touring the repertoire will allow me to share this work with a wider audience. It will help me achieve my twin career goals – bringing new and exciting repertoire with a focus on Australian music to new and broader audiences and to generate repertoire for the saxophone and display the instrument’s versatility on the classical stage.”
A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium, Russoniello has already made some steps internationally. While studying for his postgraduate diploma in 2010 at the Conservatorio di Musica Di Milano “G.Verdi” in Italy, he performed with the Syrinx Quartet and with them went on to win the Conservatorio di Milano’s Ferrero chamber music competition.
In 2011 he was named the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year and has appeared as a soloist with the Queensland, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras.
His recent performance highlights include appearing at Sydney Festival’s Symphony in the Domain as a soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in front of an audience of 50 000 people, touring regional NSW as a soloist with the SSO, performing at the World Sax Congress in Scotland with Continuum Sax and renowned Dutch Ensemble The Four Baritones, performing for the Prime Minister and heads of Australian Industry at Parliament House and completing a number of recordings for ABC Classic FM. Russoniello was also finalist for the prestigious 2012 Australian Arts Council’s Freedman Fellowship and has also performed as a casual member of the SSO.
Currently Nick works with Continuum Sax , the Duo Histoire and The Sax Summit, performing regularly across Australia in a variety of settings. He recently premiered works by composers such as Martin Kay, Adrian Luca, Ben Hoadley, Kevin Fenner, Eric Griswold and Tim Dargaville.
Russoniello’s next upcoming gig is Duo Histoire with the Sydney Camerata Quartet on 8 December at the Dome Bar in the Crown Hotel at Surry Hills, Sydney.
