The Apogee Foundation

The Apogee Foundation is an international philanthropic corporation dedicated to the development of human excellence in the art of performance. The Foundation's programs are designed to synergize the creative, spiritual and economic aspects of human potential, creating a triple helix of evolution that propels its beneficiaries to the apogee of human excellence on the world stage.

Birth and Growth of the Foundation: Apogee's History

  • Purpose of Formation: Apogee's President, Kenneth Schneider, established the Foundation in 1997 while working in Moscow as an international financial attorney in response to the implosion of financial and human resources in the former Soviet Union's performing arts training systems occurring at that time.
  • East-West Focus: Given the needs and opportunities inherent in this context, the Foundation developed a particular focus on the potential for ProgresS through "synergizing the cultural genius of the East with the economic ingenuity of the West and the human resources of the emerging world with the technological dynamism of the developed world".
  • Expansion of Scope: Following its first five years of operations in the Soviet-American East-West context, the Foundation incorporated in New York as a 501(c)(3) public charity and expanded its geographical coverage to all of Eastern Europe and Asia on the one hand and to all of Western Europe and the Americas on the other, addressing a wider potential for East-West synergies.
  • Broadening of Vision: Expanding its vision of East-West dynamics also led to the broadening of Apogee's vision of the art of performance, taking into account advanced evolutions of art and culture around the world that were not inherent in the Soviet or American contexts.
  • Performance Arts and Electronic Arts: During its tenth year of operations, Apogee partnered with Aurience Limited, an international media & technology group to promote this vision by "interfusing the power of performance art with the penetration of electronic media".

Identifying and Supporting Human Excellence: Apogee Awards

To identify and support those achieving "the apogee of human excellence" in the art of performance, the Foundation provides Excellence Awards to those demonstrating talent and achievement to an indisputably world class level. For each level of award (scholar, artist, and master) there is a core award as well as an extremely elite award for those capable of achieving (or who have achieved) historically significant levels of achievement in their fields:

  • Scholarship Awards for students include the Apogee Merit Scholarship and Apogee World Scholarship,
  • Artistry Awards for performers include the Rising Star and Virtuoso awards, and
  • Mastership Awards for instructors and directors include the Achievement and Apotheosis awards.

Through its Artists in Residence program, Apogee also promotes outstanding composers, choreographers, authors, directors and designers, Commissioning them to develop original performance art for the Foundation's programs around the world.

Developing and Promoting Human Excellence: Apogee Academy and Apogee Artists

In addition to identifying and supporting extraordinary talents through its Excellence Awards programs, the Foundation also makes available opportunities to develop their potential and promote their careers on the world stage. These include:

  • Apogee Artists programs consist of live and recorded performing arts productions held around the world to showcase human excellence in the art of performance:
    • Apogee World Stage, marquis international concerts, festivals and other performance events that showcase Apogee Award laureates and other elite artists around the world.
    • Apogee Art Works, MusicAL compositions, dance choreography and dramatic works created by Apogee Artists in Residence that feature Apogee Award laureates and other elite artists in Apogee World Stage productions.
    • Media & Technology, film and television, interactive technologies, and live and recorded media productions created and distributed in collaboration with Aurience Limited to enhance the exposure, abilities and opportunities of Apogee Award laureates on global electronic platforms.
  • Apogee Academy programs consist of innovative development opportunities for extraordinary talents designed to help gifted artists achieve their fullest potential on the world stage:
    • Apogee Intensives, concentrated training programs offering exposure to a variety of different fields and methodologies that help elite talents achieve their potential in ways not available to them in their native environments.
    • Fusion Programs, modules employing arts and education professionals to help performers expand their capacity for artistic awareness and expression and health and science professionals to help artists maximize their performance abilities.
    • Synergy Programs, events designed to offer artists from cultures which have experienced historic conflict the opportunity for mutually empowering collaboration. The contexts in which Synergy Programs have been developed and run include.