When the late David Bradshaw and Cosmo Buono founded the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, their goal was to help the careers of as many talented pianists as possible. By offering the winners a Carnegie Hall debut, career development, and performances in other venues around New York, they created a mechanism for aspiring artists to achieve more of their career goals.

Since its inception, the B & B has awarded more than a hundred world class pianists the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall, which is the Competition’s First Prize. With some of them as young as six years old, all of the winners have come to realize how valuable this credential can be in establishing a career.

Two years ago, Mr. Buono appointed Barry Alexander, a publicist specializing in classical music, as Artistic Director of the Bradshaw & Buono. By using his PR experience to create greater worldwide attention for the piano competition, Mr. Alexander was able to nearly triple the number of applicants.

Knowing that Mr. Alexander had an extensive background in opera, Mr. Buono asked if he would take the business model of the Bradshaw & Buono and use it to form a similar competition for opera singers. The Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition was formed last year, and had its first Winners’ Recital at Carnegie Hall on Sunday January 27, 2008.

Realizing the need of applicants to be able to receive financial support as well, Messrs. Alexander and Buono decided to combine their fundraising efforts under one entity, The Alexander & Buono Competitions, or ABC.

A 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, the goal of ABC is to expand its work with classical artists to include offering scholarships, study grants, and awards to help artists participate in Musica e Arte, a festival held each year in Tolentino, Italy, that allows students to perform, refine repertoire, and study with some of the world’s most distinguished teachers.

The First Annual ABC Gala will be held this year in order to raise funds for these purposes.