Annenberg Fund Awards Fellowships to Seven Young Artists | NY Times

The fellowships, which are expected to be announced on Tuesday, are for “young artists of exceptional promise,” and include grants of $50,000 a year for up to two years. The fund maintains partnerships with several schools and arts organizations – among them, the Metropolitan Opera, the Yale School of Drama, the New England Conservatory of Music, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and Ballet Theater – which recommend potential recipients of the fellowships.

Francesca dePasquale, a violinist from a family of string players (her mother is a cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra; her father was that ensemble’s concertmaster for many years), who is currently Itzhak Perlman’s teaching assistant at the Juilliard School, where she is completing her master’s degree. 

New York Times

Big financial boost for seven young artists | Philadelphia Inquirer

Violinist Francesca Rose dePasquale would seem to be well on her way: She was born into one of Philadelphia's foremost classical-music dynasties, is finishing her master's degree at the Juilliard School of Music, and is both a student of and teaching assistant to none other than superstar Itzhak Perlman.

Yet the career machinery that once waited for promising musicians such as herself only half exists these days. That's why the 24-year-old is a grateful recipient of a grant from the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing and Visual Arts, to be announced Tuesday: Hers is an era of do-it-yourself careers.

Philadelphia Inquirer

No Starving Artists Here | Philadelphia Daily News

The Leonore Annenberg Fellowship Fund for the Performing and Visual Arts alleviates some of those pressures. Named for the late philanthropist, the fellowship, now in its seventh year, partners with renowned arts organizations and institutions to award $50,000 a year for up to two years to exceptional young dancers, musicians, actors and visual artists as they segue into their professional lives as artists.

"I think the foundation made a great choice," Toby Perlman said. "Francesca is something out of this world, an elegant, charming, lovely creature. Yes, she's a terrific fiddle player, but she's very special. She's lucky, but she made her own luck. I think that she'll maximize this opportunity.

Philadelphia Daily News

New Artist of the Month | MusicalAmerica

NEW YORK--Much of the fun of student concerts is in spotting future stars of the concert stage. A light bulb went on last November 25 when Vladimir Jurowski, principal conductor of the London Philharmonic, led the Juilliard Orchestra in an all- Shostakovich concert at Alice Tully Hall. A glance at the players’ roster elicited an instant spotlight of recognition: Francesca Rose dePasquale Concertmaster.

DePasquale’s rich, expressive playing at that concert captured every mood, from pathos to acerbity, her pitch centered firmly in each note.

Talking with her a month later at the Juilliard School, where she studies with Catherine Cho and Itzhak Perlman and will graduate in May with a Master of Music degree, she revealed herself to be a well-spoken, mature, and thoughtful young musician. She is as aware of the dilemmas facing a career in today’s economically turbulent classical-music world as she has command of her violin. Moreover, her remarkable background has endowed her with the perception and drive that appears certain to lead to an exceptional career.

Perlman’s appreciation of his receptive student is clear: “The first word that comes to mind is ‘classic.’ She’s a classy young lady, a beautiful musician, very artistic. It’s interesting that her personality and music-making are very integrated, which is not always the case. When we work together, we talk about music on a very high level, and she absorbs. She’s remarkable.”

MusicalAmerica

Santa Cruz Symphony - Transcendence! | Peninsula Reviews

The best was yet to come. Out on stage came the lovely young violinist, Francesca dePasquale, to perform the Bruch G Minor Violin Concerto. Her biographical information in the printed program described the usual competitions and early appearances with orchestras that are found in the bios of so many young violinists. We also learned that she is a master’s degree candidate at the Juilliard School studying with Itzhak Perlman. But when she touched her bow to strings in her opening solo, we heard the sound of a mature artist fully formed at a young age and equal to any challenge. Magnificent intonation, even in harmonics and octaves, gorgeous control of dynamics and a big gutsy sound that soared at times and whispered at others completely won us over. Her lovely shaping of melodies in the slow movement was creamy smooth and utterly natural. The climax of the movement gave me goose bumps. The last movement was a knockout and earned her a prolonged standing ovation.

Peninsula Reviews