Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2023 - Winners have been chosen!

On Wednesday, 8 February 2023, the final of the Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2023 took place in front of a packed audience in Hall X of Munich's Gasteig HP8. The guitarist Elias Prinz prevailed against four competitors and won the 1st prize. With this prize, he will travel to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, a cooperation partner of the Jazz Institute of the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts (HMTM), for a summer course. Elias Prinz studies jazz guitar with Prof. Peter O'Mara.

The 2nd prize - a performance at the Night Club of the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich - went to Minchan Kim (jazz drums, class of Prof. Christian Lettner), the 3rd prize - the financing of a course at an international jazz academy - was won by the saxophonist Tom Förster (class of Prof. Axel Kühn and Prof. Florian Trübsbach).

A total of 19 candidates had applied for the Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2023, which is open exclusively to students of the Jazz Institute of the HMTM. In addition to the award winners, Nico Weber (trumpet) and Lukas Tutert (trumpet) also played in the final. The jury consisted of Camilo Dornier (founder), Prof. Claus Reichstaller (director of the Jazz Institute of the HMTM), Prof. Lydia Grün (president of the HMTM), Beate Sampson (Bayerischer Rundfunk), Innegrit Volkhardt (Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Munich) and Marco Ostrowski (jazz label ACT Music).

The winners identified in the competition will perform and receive awards at a prize-winners' concert on Wednesday 12 July 2023 at the Isarphilharmonie in the Gasteig HP8. Special guest of the prize winners' concert will be the Brazilian singer and composer Ivan Lins.

Further information on the prizewinners: https://hmtm.de/kurt-maas-jazz-award-2023-preistraeger-stehen-fest/

Details of the Kurt Maas Jazz Award 2023 Laureate Concert:

Wednesday, 12 July 2023
Gasteig HP8: Isar Philharmonic Orchestra
Special Guest: Ivan Lins
Musical direction: Prof. Claus Reichstaller
Tickets: 10€ / discounted 7€ (tickets will go on sale in April 2023 via München Ticket)