THE ARIEL BYBEE ENDOWMENT
The Ariel Bybee Endowment at the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts was established in 2021 to honor the legacy of distinguished mezzo-soprano Ariel Bybee (American, 1943-2018). Each year, the Endowment grants a prize/commission for the creation of new art or original scholarship by Latter-day Saints as a result of a call for submissions. The disciplines represented by the Endowment correspond to her career highlights and passions in one of these nine, rotating categories: opera, dance, scholarship, art songs, youth education, hymns, visual arts, collaborative arts, and choral music.
Annual Prizes and the Endowment
2022 PRIZE: ART SONGS - S. Andrew Lloyd won the inaugural commission of an art song cycle to be sung by international opera soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen. The premiere took place at Carnegie Hall, April 9, 2024. Click here to learn more about Andrew, the 2022 Prize, and the premiere.
2023 PRIZE: VISUAL ART - The winners of the second year's prize who will create a visual art work that in some way is inspired by music are Susana Isabel Silva and Gonzalo Javier Silva, whose work will be presented in the New York gallery Sargent's Daughters at a date to be determined. Click to learn more.
2024 PRIZE: MUSIC EDUCATION - The winner of the third year's prize is Mia Black, who is currently developing a curriculum for elementary-aged students through an original book, titled “American Folk Music,” which linked folk music to waves of immigrants. It will be published by the Center. Click to meet Mia and learn about the project.
2025 PRIZE: A call for submissions and the announcement of the prize's artistic discipline will be shared in October 2024. Be sure to subscribe to the Center's news (at the bottom of this page) to keep informed.
Click to learn about the goals of the Endowment, its history, and the career of Ariel Bybee.
The Endowment exists in perpetuity. Annual prizes are funded by Endowment investment proceeds. We gratefully acknowledge donors to the Endowment, and we invite you to join them. Click on the button below to learn how.
More from the Endowment
Neylan McBaine announces the establishment of the Endowment in honor of her mother, Ariel Bybee.
Watch an excerpt from the premiere of Amaranthine, composed by S. Andrew Lloyd, sung by Rachel Willis-Sørensen at Carnegie Hall, April 9, 2024.
Rachel Willis-Sørensen appears on CBS New York to preview her debut solo recital.
