Please click on a photo for more information.

What is ABF?

The Alexander & Buono Foundation (ABF) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation established in 2008 with a mission is to identify the world’s most promising classical musicians and help them launch and sustain careers, while developing new audiences who understand, value, and appreciate classical music.

With more than half a century of performance, marketing, and publicity experience as the bedrock for their work, Chairmen Barry Alexander and Cosmo Buono fully understand the issues associated with enjoying success in classical music, and are therefore able to offer counsel, expertise, and result-oriented guidance.

Whether through performance, music education, or an array of associated professions, the goal remains simplifying the process by which classical musicians establish fulfilling careers.

Achievements

Below are just a few examples of hundreds of artists enjoying success today as a result of their ABC wins, ABF grants, and our ongoing career development counseling:

  • Pianist Jan Lisiecki went on to sign a five-CD contract with Deutsche Grammophon after winning the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition

  • Ann Cravero began directing operatic productions throughout the world based on her win in the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition

  • Pianist Anna Shelest made debuts at Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls with orchestra, and her Kennedy Center debut, all in less than a year, while also receiving a recording contract with Sorel Classics after her B & B win

  • Cellist Hans Kristian Goldstein was offered performances with the prestigious Salon de Virtuosi, and chosen as Musical America’s Artist of the Month

  • Pianists Umi Garrett, George Ko, Arianna Körting, Thomas Nickell, and Andrew Vargas, all Foundation grant recipients, went on to become Young Steinway Artists, a distinction held by less than 130 pianists in the entire world.