Rotary-Club Wien-Ring: Premio Leonardo da Vinci awarded to Alma Deutscher

The award was handed over to Alma Deutscher by Mr. Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the Austrian Parliament, himself a practicing musician and a Rotarian. Laudators were the Director of the Vienna State Opera, Mr. Bogdan Roščić, and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

The Premio Leonardo da Vinci is awarded by 11 European Rotary clubs to young artists or scientists. The only condition is that the laureate must not be older than 35.

Premio President Wulf Gordian Hauser said: "At the age of 16, Alma Deutscher is the youngest prize winner ever in the 46-year history of the Premio. We wanted to honor Alma Deutscher's exceptional talent and express what a joy it is for Austria that Alma Deutscher's family has moved to Vienna."

In addition to the Vienna-Ring club, the Rotary clubs that award the annual prize are Florence, Athens, Tours, Madrid, London, Dublin, Brussels, Amsterdam, Würzburg and Copenhagen. In most cases, these are the oldest Rotary clubs in each country. The annual prize of €12,000 is endowed by all eleven clubs together.

Premio President Wulf Gordian Hauser commented: "The Premio Leonardo da Vinci is a good example of the Rotarian idea of helping, in this case by supporting young artists and scientists. It's especially important that this is a very European project which includes our friends from the UK."

- Picture is available at AP Images ( http://www.apimages.com ) -

For inquiries, contact Wulf Gordian Hauser
tel. +43 664 301 81 12
email: [email protected]