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The American Prize is a series of non-profit national competitions providing cash awards, professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances of music by ensembles and individuals each year in the United States.

The American Prize Competition awarded the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony and its music director David Bernard FIRST PRIZE in Orchestral Performance for its performances of Strauss Death and Transfiguration, Brahms Symphony No. 1 and Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in 2012. The orchestral also won FIRST PRIZE in Orchestral Performance for its performance of Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2 in 2011.

"This is an important honor for the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, its supporters and its audience," says Maestro David Bernard, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony's music director. "These talented and dedicated artists deliver consistently high quality performances all season long and through our recorded performances. We are proud to be recognized by The American Prize."

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony's 2012-2013 season begins with a two concert series on October 27 and 28. The program features Internationally renowned pianist Terry Eder in a performance of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto and also includes Strauss Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks and Schubert's Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished").

Other programs this season include an all Beethoven program in February featuring Spencer Myer in Beethoven;'s Fourth Piano Concerto, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7. The season finale in May includes a performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5.

Tickets for all Park Avenue Chamber Symphony concerts are available online through the orchestra's website (http://www.chambersymphony.com). *

Since its founding in 1999, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony has built a loyal following, both in New York City and worldwide through its extensive catalog of recordings on iTunes, Naxos/ClassicsOnline, Amazon and Spotify. In 2011 the orchestra toured the People's Republic of China performing in 9 cities including Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, Chaoyang, Jinzhou, Shenzhen, Shenyang and Xi'an.

The ensemble regularly features important soloists including Carter Brey (principal cellist, New York Philharmonic), David Chan (concertmaster, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Jon Manasse (clarinet soloist) and Whoopi Goldberg (Oscar Winning Actor and Entertainer), as well as emerging artists from Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music and Mannes. The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony performs at All Saints Church on the Upper East Side of NYC, with additional performances at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall.

Through its fundraising efforts, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony has helped establish a new Scholarship Fund for students at theJuilliard School's Pre-College Division, as well as support The Harmony Program: a New York City organization that provides music lessons to economically disadvantaged children and is modeled after Venezuela's world-famous model of music education, "El Sistema".