Miami – December 12, 2008 – The Cintas Foundation and the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University today announced the start of the annual competition for the 2009 Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition administered by the foundation and the Cintas Fellowship Program at The Frost.

Established in 2006, this fellowship is generously endowed by Brandon Fradd of NewYork City.  Managing director of Apollo Medical Partners, Fradd, a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, grew up in Miami among Cuban friends from whom he learned Spanish and developed an interest in Cuban music.

The only one of its kind in the nation, the program has honored some of the world’s most talented Cuban musicians. Past music fellows include Armando Bayolo, Sergio Barroso, Mario Bauza (known as the father of Afro-Cuban jazz), José Bernardo Aldo Rafael Forte, Julián Orbon, Tania León and Orlando Jacinto Garcia. Last year, the first William B. Warren Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Bebo Valdes. The Cintas Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban lineage who are currently residing outside of Cuba. Winners will be announced in May 2009.

“Endowing a specific fellowship for music composition is a visionary gesture which supports the rich heritage of Cuban music for the enjoyment of all. The music community is indebted to Brandon Fradd for his generosity,” said Hortensia E. Sampedro, president of the Cintas Foundation.

Applicants for the music fellowship must submit original musical compositions and recordings of their work by January 30, 2009.  Cintas fellows are awarded $15,000 and the opportunity to pursue an art project outlined in their applications. Since it was established in 1963, the Cintas Fellowship Program has honored more than 300 artists. FIU and the Cintas Foundation Board have been administering the awards program since 2005.

The Cintas Fellowship Program encourages creative development in architecture, literature, music composition and the visual arts, and awards annual fellowships in creative writing and visual arts as well. The foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts.

Application forms and competition requirements are available online at www.cintasfoundation.org or by contacting Stephanie Guasp at the Frost Art Museum at [email protected]