The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) and San Francisco Ballet have selected the first two students for the new Denis de Coteau Fellowship for the 2023-2024 school year. This year's fellows are Adrian Jackson, viola, studying with Dimitri Murrath and Jonathan Vinocour, and Frederic Renaud, cello, studying with Jennifer Culp. 

Both musicians, whose personal and professional experiences contribute meaningfully to an expanded culture of diversity in the performing arts, will receive tuition, housing, and a stipend for SFCM’s one-year Professional Studies Certificate in Instrumental Performance. The two students will also have the opportunity to play rehearsals and shows with the SF Ballet Orchestra, as well as other training and support.

“Adrian and Frederic are both phenomenal musicians, and this fellowship serves as another welcome pathway to help diversify our field," said SFCM Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Special Advisor to the President Jason Hainsworth.

“We are thrilled to welcome Adrian and Frederic into the Orchestra to perform alongside our talented musicians this season,” said SF Ballet Music Director Martin West. “We will celebrate the legacy of Denis de Coteau through the music, collaboration, and comradery and hopefully help them both to further their careers.” 

Maestro Denis de Coteau.

In addition to practicing and performing with the ballet orchestra, each fellow will participate in chamber concerts, leadership training, and activities with local schools. They will be invited to mock auditions and will receive financial support for professional auditions. As part of the SFCM certificate program, each fellow will participate in advanced, focused studies that emphasize individual instruction and preparation for a performance career. 

The fellows will live in SFCM’s new Bowes Center, a 12-story “vertical campus” home to three performance halls, practice rooms, a recording studio, residences for students and visiting artists, and more. The Bowes Center is located in San Francisco’s Hayes Valley, across the street from SF Ballet’s performance address at the War Memorial Opera House.

Applicants were selected by a joint committee of musicians and administrators from both organizations. There is no fee to apply. Upon its founding in 2022, the Denis de Coteau Fellowship program was  intended to advance opportunities for Black musicians in honor of Maestro de Coteau. De Coteau passed away in July 1999. Both students were selected in spring of 2023. 

The fellowship follows SFCM and the San Francisco Symphony’s announcement of the third Emerging Black Composers Project winner; Xavier Muzik. Both programs are part of the Conservatory’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

The Denis de Coteau Fellowship fellowship is made possible through the generosity of Denise Littlefield Sobel.