About the AFAF
The American Fine Arts Festival (AFAF) was established in 2003 by Vladimir Agilin with the objective of promoting musical education and fostering the study and understanding of classical music. Vladimir Agilin is a life-long educator, who attended the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow prior to becoming a violinist with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra and later performing with the “Moscow Virtuosi” Chamber Orchestra. The American Fine Arts Festival is currently run and administered by Art & Music Unlimited, an educational outreach association founded by Mr. Agilin in 2001.
Mission Statement
The primary purposes of the AFAF are:
• to provide appropriate performance venues for young musicians;
• to foster the development of gifted children through a variety of educational programs;
• to help develop the discipline of music performance by providing artistic criticism and feedback and creating a forum for the discussion of musical and artistic growth;
• to facilitate the further development of classical music by encouraging greater involvement by young people in the field of classical music study and performance.
Our Fifth Year of Musical Excellence
Since its inception in 2003, the AFAF has been organizing annual music festivals and performance competition events, providing more than four hundred K-12 students each year an opportunity to perform in a formal concert setting at some of the best concert halls in New York City, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall at Kaufman Center. The AFAF has been conducting regular auditions in the following states: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California and in Washington DC. This year, we are also holding auditions in Connecticut. There are plans in place to extend auditions to other parts of the country.
In the five years since the organization’s founding, the AFAF has played host to many guest performers from abroad and expects to continue developing ties with educational organizations throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In addition to its regular festival program, the AFAF runs the Summer Courses in Europe program, which had its successful debut two years ago, an international piano competition– the New York Grand Prix which was introduced last year, as well as an international competition for young vocalists – Golden Voices of America, scheduled to make its debut in 2008-2009.
The AFAF hopes to continue to provide a rich educational environment for young people across the country, encouraging them to realize their musical and personal potential.
