UNO’s Professor of Flute, Christine Beard has been selected as a NATIONAL FINALIST in the 2023-2024 American Prize Instrumental Soloist Professional Division Competition for her performance of “Hall of Ghosts” (2020) for solo piccolo by composer Amanda Harberg. This is the second time she has been a finalist in this competition: The American Prize awarded Beard SECOND PLACE for her solo performance with the Orquesta Sinfônica de Porto Alegre in Brazil of Concerto Boriken by Ernesto Cordero in 2019. Videos of both performances can be found on her website at www.christiebeard.net.

Founded in 2010, The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles and composers in the United States. This year’s winners will be announced at a later date and updates can be found online at http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com.