Cellist John-Henry Crawford Awarded National Federation of Music Clubs Prize

The prize includes a $20,000 award and two years of booking engagements with affiliate organizations

On July 1, the National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC) announced cellist John-Henry Crawford as its 2021-2023 Young Artist in Strings.

The National Federation of Music Clubs is an American non-profit philanthropic music organization that promotes American music, performers, and composers.

The award, which is presented every other year, includes a $20,000 prize and two years of NFMC booking engagements with affiliate organizations. It is open to instrumentalists between the ages of 18 and 30, and vocalists between the ages of 25 and 37.

As the 2019 First Prize Winner of the IX International Carlos Prieto Cello Competition and has been the Classical Recording Foundation's Young Artist of the Year, Crawford holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and The Juilliard School. His teachers included Peter Wiley, Carter Brey, Phillippe Muller, Joel Krosnick, and Hans Jørgen Jensen.

“I feel extremely grateful and honored to receive this award from such a long-standing and esteemed organization as the National Federation of Music Clubs," Crawford said. "It will be revitalizing to bring music to concert halls throughout the country after a year as trying as this past one.”

Crawford plays a 200-year-old European cello — that his grandfather smuggled out of Austria — and on the Tourte "L'Ainé" bow from 1790. His extramusical hobbies include reading about astrophysics, running, performing magic tricks, and photography.

His most recent album, "DIALOGO," recorded with Orchard Classics and pianist Victor Ascuncion, was released on June 4.