Winners announced of Early Music Vancouver’s second annual Emerging Artist Competition
Contest asked musicians to share their vision for the future of early music
Alexander Belser (left), Eliot Xaquin Dios, and Marina Eichberg.
EARLY MUSIC VANCOUVER (EMV) has announced the winners of its second annual Emerging Artist Competition. The 2024 contest asked applicants the following question: What might the next generation of early music and musicians sound and look like?
Coming in first place is keyboardist Eliot Xaquin Dios of Spain and Switzerland for his baroque reconstruction of Igor Stravinsky’s famous ballet, The Rite of Spring. Dios is a harpsichordist, pianist, and composer who specializes in early keyboards. He is the co-founder of two chamber groups: the Vestigium Ensemble and Il Concerto Intempestivo. He has a master’s degree in harpsichord performance from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and a bachelor’s degree from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague.
Violinist Marina Eichberg of Palestine and Germany came in second place with her creative project, which focused 19th-century performance practices of the string-quartet genre. Eichberg has a bachelor’s degree from the Cologne University of Music and Dance and a master’s from the University of Music in Detmold. She specializes in historical performance.
Canadian musician and serpent player Alexander Belser placed third with his exploration of lesser-known wind instruments of early music, including the rarely played serpent. Based in Montreal, Belser also plays ophicleide, a bass wind instrument. He is currently studying at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music in the field of early music. He holds a master’s degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London and a bachelor of music and performer’s certificate from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in New York.
The panel of judges consisted of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra’s concertmaster Chloe Meyers, keyboardist Hank Knox, and 2023 Next Generation cellist Jessica Korotkin.
The EMV Emerging Artist Competition was the brainchild of Julia Halbert, who was inspired by the Next Generation program at EMV, which provides early-career musicians the chance to perform at the annual Summer Festival. The competition gives a place for up-and-coming artists in the field of historical performance—music before 1800—to share their research and musicianship.
The 2024 competition heard from 19 applicants. 
Related Articles
