AV About Us French

The Atlanta Virtuosi Foundation, Inc. was incorporated
in November 1977 under Georgia code 501 (c)(3) as a
non-profit organization. The foundation has adopted
and organized goals exclusively for educational, cultural
and civic purposes. Since its inception, the foundation
has received continuous support from both public and
private sources including the City of Atlanta Bureau of
Cultural Affairs, the Fulton County Arts Council, the
National Endowment for the Arts, the Georgia Council
for the Arts, DeKalb Council for the Arts, Bell South, and
the Coca-Cola Foundation.

The performing arm of the foundation is the Atlanta
Virtuosi, which has distinguished itself as a chamber
ensemble of the highest caliber in the United States and
abroad. Hailed by the late Henryk Szeryng as being
"among the finest chamber groups of today, the Atlanta
Virtuosi possess an enviable level of instrumental
command and artistic integrity." Noted for the diversity
of its programs, the Atlanta Virtuosi perform a wide
variety of both traditional and contemporary
compositions, and have featured such world-class artists
as Joseph Silverstein, Milan Turkovic, Frank Glazer,
Janos Starker, Pepe Romero and Henryk Szeryng. The
Virtuosi has been the recipient of two consecutive
consortium awards from the National Endowment for
the Arts for the commissioning and world premiere
performances of new chamber works by internationally
renowned composers Gunther Schuller, Karel Husa,
Elliot Schwartz, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Leonardo
Balada and Werner Torkanowsky.

The Atlanta Virtuosi has received critical acclaim for its
extended tours of Mexico and its first European tour to
Austria, Germany and Switzerland in 1986. In March of
1988, the Atlanta Virtuosi returned for their second
European tour, playing to capacity audiences in the
cultural centers of Spain and Italy. In 1986, 1987 and
1988, the Atlanta Virtuosi established a summer
chamber music residency at Bates College in Lewiston,
Maine. In 1990, the Atlanta Virtuosi founded the popular
Hispanic Festival for the Arts in Atlanta and Mexico.
Now in its 11th season, these annual festivals were
established to celebrate the rich cultural and artistic
contributions of the Hispanic heritage.

In 1993, the Atlanta Virtuosi was selected as winner of
the "Regional Designation Award in the Arts" by the
Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG)
Cultural Olympiad. The award was developed to honor
excellence and innovation in artistic and cultural
programs throughout the Southeast.