Young Concert Artists 25th Anniversary Gala
Musical Genius

Italian Ambassador Sergio Vento and his wife, Mary Magdalena Zelent, hosted Young Concerts Artists' 25th Anniversary Gala at their embassy in late February. The evening began with a one-hour concert by guitarist Robert Belinic, soprano Courtenay Budd and pianist Vassily Primakov, followed by dinner and a live auction. The guest of honor was concert pianist Van Cliburn, who became famous in 1958 when he won the First International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow during the Cold War. Upon his return to the U.S. , he was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City , the only such event to honor a classical musician.

Young Concert Artists was started in 1961 to launch the careers of brilliant but unknown artists. Artists are chosen through annual auditions, and perform in the Young Concert Series held annually at the Kennedy Center . The non-profit group is based in New York and Washington and is chaired here by Gilan Tocco Corn, who is also an accomplished concert pianist.

Svetlana Ushakova and James Symingtonm	Italian Ambassador Sergio Vento and Stephen Banker

Jeanne and Otto Ruesch	Clara and Ernest Menaldino

Miriam Veu Bassat, Sheila Saleh, Ann Stock and Roberta Bernstein	Eric Motley and Gilan Tocco Corn

Photos by Kyle Samperton