AAF Spring/Summer 2026 Newsletter
Welcome to the American Austrian Foundation’s Spring/Summer newsletter. In addition to our largest program, the Open Medical Institute, the AAF has a number of programs for artists, conductors, journalists, diplomats, and curators, as well as medical students and residents. This fulfills our mission of fostering exchanges between the United States and Austria in science and the arts.
Congratulations to the 2026 AAF/Seebacher Fine Arts Prize Winners
We are delighted to announce the four winners of this year’s AAF/Seebacher Prize for Fine Arts.
“Freedom250” A Concert Conducted by AAF Young Conductor Fellow William Garfield Walker
The US embassy in Vienna celebrated the 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence with a concert entitled “Freedom250” conducted by AAF’s 2020 Conductor Fellow, William Garfield Walker. Martin Eichtinger, Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, and Art Fisher, US Ambassador to Austria, welcomed the audience at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. Both spoke […]
Introducing the 2026 AAF Young Conductor Fellows
We are delighted to announce the two winners of this year’s AAF Young Conductors Fellowship: Clancy Ellis, MM Orchestral Conducting ‘23, Mannes School of Music Adrian Rogers, MM Orchestral Conducting ‘27, The Juilliard School Clancy and Adrian will travel to Salzburg in July for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Using Schloss Arenberg as their home base, they […]
AAF Young Conductors meet in Berlin
What a coincidence! The two former AAF Young Conductors Fellows, Levi Hammer and Leonard Weiss, recently met in Berlin, where both have several performances in 2026: Levi Hammer will conduct the Konzerthausorchester Berlin on March 22, 2026, and will perform his celebrated solo piano program Gershwin in Vienna: Gershwin and the Second Viennese School at […]
Levi Hammer wows the audience in Washington, D.C.
Conductor, pianist and former AAF Young Conductors Fellow Levi Hammer captivated the audience during his latest performance at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on February 9, 2026 with his solo piano program Gershwin in Vienna. The American Austrian Foundation (AAF) and the Austrian Cultural Forum (ACF) in Washington, D.C. have jointly organized the event, […]
The 2026 AAF/Seebacher Fine Arts Prize – Apply Now!
Each year, the AAF/Seebacher Fine Arts Prize provides fellowships to study at the Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in Austria to fine arts graduate students studying at American universities, or those who have completed their graduate studies within the past two years. Fellows learn from well-known and highly respected artists, curators, and art […]
Apply Now! 2026 AAF Young Conductors Fellowship
Each year, the AAF Young Conductors Fellowship provides promising young conductors (age 30 or younger) from the United States the opportunity to spend up to four weeks at the Salzburg Festival observing the world’s leading conductors and artists at work during rehearsals and performances. Qualified young conductors who have recently finished their academic studies or […]
Levi Hammer to perform “Gershwin in Vienna” in Washington, D.C. & New York City
Levi Hammer received the American Austrian Foundation’s AAF/Faber Young Conductors Fellowship in 2010, which enabled him to spend six weeks in Salzburg during the world-famous Salzburg Festival, where he attended opera, orchestra, and chamber music rehearsals featuring the world’s greatest artists. He also met many of the conductors and musicians performing in Salzburg during his stay, […]
Music for Medicine Benefit 2025
The American Austrian Foundation’s annual Music for Medicine Benefit took place on December 2, 2025, at the splendid Metropolitan Club in New York City. Dr. Wolfgang Aulitzky, CEO of the Open Medical Institute, was joined by Pablo Legorreta, who sits on the boards of both the AAF and OMI, to share updates from the OMI headquarters […]