no
The School of Music Community is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Krannert Center Debut Artist Competition:
- First Prize of $3,000 and Krannert Center Debut Artist: Andrew Gaffey, saxophone
Student of Dr. Nicki Roman - Second Prize of $1,500: Maxwell Schultz, cello
Student of Prof. Daniel McDonough - Third Prize of $500: Ana Huerta Fernández, piano
Student of Dr. Chi-Chen Wu
The 2026 Krannert Center Debut Artist Recital featuring Andrew Gaffey will take place on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. in Foellinger Great Hall. As a Krannert Center Debut Artist, Mr. Gaffey will perform at a post-performance reception in his honor at the University of Illinois President’s House with the President and invited guests. Mr. Gaffey will also receive professional recording session(s) with Krannert Center audio staff.
After the competition, the jury panel remarked,
Once again, the School of Music should be proud of the high level of musicianship represented at the competition, excellent preparation, and thoughtful program choices. Our jury panel thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon with these talented musicians!
The jury panel included:
- Dr. Emily Laugesen, Director of Community Engagement & Artistic Programming Curator, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
- Dr. Kevin Geraldi, Director of Bands, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Dr. Ingrid Kammin, soprano, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music, Illinois Wesleyan University
Congratulations to Mr. Gaffey and all of our prize winners on this outstanding achievement!
