Jazz Award

Jazz Award

Kurt Maas Jazz Scholarship

On the occasion of the 10th year of the Kurt Maas Jazz Award, the University of Music and Theatre Munich (HMTM), supported by entrepreneur and jazz promoter Camilo Dornier, is awarding the Kurt Maas Jazz Scholarship for the first time. The scholarship promotes the worldwide networking of the Munich Jazz Institute by inviting international young talents to Munich.

 

Kurt Maas Jazz Scholarship 2023:

This year, this sponsorship went to the Brazilian musicians André Kusmitsch (piano) and Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda (trombone).

André Kusmitsch and Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda were invited to Munich as guest students from June 17, 2023 to July 17, 2023, and worked with the students of the Jazz Institute in various workshops and performed as part of the winner's concert of the Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2023 on July 12 at the Isarphilharmonie in the Gasteig HP8.

For the first award of the Scholarship this year, the Jazz Institute has selected two institutions in São Paulo that stand for innovative jazz education in Brazil: the Faculdade de Música Souza Lima College and the EMESP Tom Jobim Music School. The Faculdade de Música Souza Lima College in São Paulo, which works closely with the Berklee College of Music, has a high-caliber Jazz and Samba Jazz Education. The EMESP Tom Jobim Music School in São Paulo is a socio-cultural project that intensively promotes musical talent from the most diverse neighborhoods of the city. Internal competitions have taken place at both institutions to award the Scholarship.

Kurt Maas Jazz Award Scholars c links Heloisa Bortz

The pianist André Kuzmitsch and the trombonist Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda (Copyright photo left: Heloísa Bortz)

About the two scholars

Twenty-one-year-old André Kusmitsch began playing the piano at the age of seven and discovered his interest in Brazilian music and jazz at an early age. In 2016, he began music lessons at the EMESP Tom Jobim State Music School (Escola de Música do Estado de São Paulo Tom Jobim), where he was taught by Guilherme Ribeiro and Sizao Machado, among others. In 2019, he began his undergraduate studies at Faculdade de Música Souza Lima in cooperation with Berklee College of Music in Boston. He plays in the Souza Lima Big Band and is also the pianist and keyboardist of Sexteto Aurum, an ensemble sponsored by EMESP's Career Development Center.

Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda, 24, first received music lessons at the age of eight and has played the trombone since he was 11. He eventually began studying trombone at the Conservatório Musical Villa Lobos in São Paulo, participated in a study exchange with the Juilliard School in New York, and then completed his studies at the EMESP Tom Jobim State School of Music and the Faculdade Santa Marcelina College (FASM). During his studies, he already got the opportunity to perform with many renowned bands of the Brazilian music scene. He is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in Music Education at Faculdade de Música Souza Lima and recording his first album.

You can find a short interview with the two scholars here!

2023 07 12 KMJA Isarphil c Gregory Giakis 116

Photo l.t.r.: André Kusmitsch and Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda with Beate Sampson and Prof. Claus Reichstaller at the KMJA award concert 2023 at the Isarphilharmonie (Copyright Gregory Giakis 2023)

 

Personal experience report by Feldeman de Oliveira Lacerda:

São Paulo, 10.08.2023

Through this report, I would like to share a little bit about my experience during my stay in Munich from June 16 to July 17, 2023. The exchange was the result of a cooperation between EMESP Tom Jobim and the University of Music and Theatre Munich.

I would like to emphasize at the beginning that this exchange was of very high importance for both my artistic/professional and personal development. I am convinced that such projects contribute strongly to the individual development of the students involved.

The experience of being in a new country, speaking a different language, meeting new people and building new relationships has made me realize how much I still have to learn about the world. This is excellent because it makes me realize how much I can still grow as a musician, a trombonist, and as a person.

In terms of the college, I was very grateful for the warm welcome from all the staff, faculty, and fellow students. They were supportive and very helpful with everything we needed. The practical ensemble exercises, the big band, and the individual instrument lessons were of high quality and provided us with many interesting opportunities for exchange with the professors and students. And on top of that, we experienced a great openness to share our experiences with Brazilian music with all of them.

Lastly, I would like to emphasize how formative the experience of playing in places like the jazz clubs (Unterfahrt, Milla Club), the Isarphilharmonie (in a memorable concert with Ivan Lins) or at a festival in Regensburg was. These experiences will remain in my memory for the rest of my life and contribute greatly to the holistic development as a musician.

A tight hug,

Feldeman Oliveira

Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2023

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Foto: Munich University Jazz Orchestra with Ivan Lins and Alma Naidu (© Gregory Giakis) 

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Press clippings

Bericht über Preisträgerkonzert Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2019
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 10.2.2019

Erfahrungsbericht 1. Preisträger 2017 (Moritz Stahl)

Bericht über Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2017
Auszug aus: Auftakt, 22/2017

Bericht über Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2017
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 19.2.2017

Erfahrungsbericht 1. Preisträger 2015 (Leo Betzl)

Bericht über Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2015
Auszug aus: Jahresbericht zum Studienjahr 2014/2015 der Hochschule für Musik und Theater München

Erfahrungsbericht 1. Preisträger 2013 (Matthias Lindermayr)
Auszug aus: Jahresbericht zum Studienjahr 2013/2014 der Hochschule für Musik und Theater München

Bericht über Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2013
Auszug aus: Berklee Today. A Forum for Contemporary Music and Musicians. Vol. 26, Number 2, Fall 2013

Conditions of Participation

1. Organiser

The Kurt Maas Jazz Award is an event organised by the University of Music and Theater Munich (HMTM).

2. Eligibility

Students of all majors of the HMTM Jazz Institute under the age of 30 are eligible to participate.

3. Application and registration deadline

The application can be submitted until 22 November 2024 by sending the completed registration form to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Pre-selection credentials:

  • links to three YouTube video clips, including a jazz standard and one own original composition (maximum length per clip: 3 minutes)
  • an artistic curriculum vitae (pdf format)
  • a photo of the applicant (300 dpi, jpg format)

4. Admission

The jury’s decision on admission to the competition or admission to the final round will be communicated after the selection has been made. The decisions are final and no further explanations will be given. Admitted applicants will receive a confirmation by email. Applicants who are not admitted will also be informed by email.

5. Acknowledgment of conditions

By registering for the competition the participant accepts all terms and conditions of the competition as well as the jury’s decisions as binding. Legal action against any decision made by the jury is not permitted. This also applies to the individual benefits associated with the respective prizes. Applications that do not meet the requirements of the competition can be rejected.

6. Student of a jury member

Should a student of a jury member be among the candidates, this jury member cannot participate in the evaluation of this candidate. Anyone who is studying with or has studied with a jury member and did not complete the course of studies at least three years ago is considered a student. Participation in master classes does not apply to this rule.

7. Competition rounds

There will be two rounds in the competition: the pre-selection and the final round. A maximum of five people will be admitted to the final (public) round. The final round will take place on Thursday, 6 February 2025 at 1:00 PM in Saal X (HP8).

The following conditions apply to the final round:

  • candidates can play for approx. 30 minutes
  • repertoire and jazz stylistic can be chosen by the candidate

Candidates admitted to the final round must send their competition programme as well as a motivational letter (in English) for the summer programme at Berklee College of Music, Boston by 19 January 2025 via email to the following address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

8. Awards ceremony and award concert

The award ceremony will take place as part of the award concert on 4 July 2025 at 8:00 PM at the Isarphilharmonie (HP8). The award winners commit themselves to participating in this event without receiving payment. The head of the university’s Jazz Institute will curate the programme. It is expected that each award winner personally accepts their award.

9. Prizes

First prize: Funding for a five-week summer study programme at Berklee College of Music in Boston, including flights, accommodation and meals. If the first prize winner is unable to attend the summer programme for personal reasons or due to force majeure, the jury may, at its own discretion, award this prize to the second or third prize winner and/or award the first prize winner an appropriate substitute prize.

Second prize: Funding for a four-week study stay in Brazil at the Sao Paulo State Music School »EMESP Tom Jobim« and/or at the Souza Lima Conservatório e Faculdade de Música in Sao Paulo, including flights, accommodation and meals. If the second prize winner is unable to attend this study stay for personal reasons or due to force majeure, the jury may, at its discretion, award this prize to the first or third prize winner and/or award the second prize winner an appropriate substitute prize.

Third prize: Funding for a (remunerated) performance at the Night Club of the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich including a live audio recording of the concert for personal use.

10. Media use

The University of Music and Theatre Munich reserves the right to use recorded material of the competition rounds as well as the award concert or extracts from these for the production of a CD and/or DVD for promotional purposes and in order to document the competition. The university also reserves the right to submit the competition entries in audio and/or audio-visual form, itself or through third parties, on analogue and/or digital sound/image/video media, including platforms, regardless of the format or procedure, in order to evaluate or have the material evaluated and distribute or have the material distributed commercially and non-commercially. The required declaration of consent is deemed to have been issued by the participant upon registration for the competition; the same applies to the transfer of rights in accordance with the above-mentioned terms. Competitors and award winners are not entitled to additional remuneration.