Apogee Foundation Named Top Non-Profit in the First Annual Fast Pitch Business Awards

The Apogee Foundation has been selected as the year's “Top Non-Profit” in the inaugural Fast Pitch! Business Awards.

New York, NY – The Fast Pitch! Business Awards committee has named The Apogee Foundation “Top Non-Profit” in the First Annual Fast Pitch! Business Awards.

The Apogee Foundation is an international philanthropy that helps gifted emerging artists achieve their full potential and that celebrates their achievements on the world stage. Fast Pitch!, one of the fastest growing business networking communities, established the Fast Pitch! Business Awards to recognize and honor businesses demonstrating best practices and attaining highest distinction in their fields.

In evaluating and selecting the inaugural Fast Pitch! Business Award winners, Fast Pitch! assembled a panel of experts with over 200 years of relevant experience to review more than 1,000 nominees in nine award categories. Employing criteria that included the results of public voting as well as in-depth evaluation of each nominee's organization and operations, the Fast Pitch! Business Awards Committee conducted a thorough analysis of all candidates during a rigorous 45 day process and publicly announced the Fast Pitch! Business Award winners on February 4, 2009, naming The Apogee Foundation "Top Non-Profit."

Bill Jula, CEO and Co-Founder of Fast Pitch! said: "We are honored to highlight Kenneth Schneider and his team at The Apogee Foundation as this year's Top Non-Profit. Fast Pitch! shares The Apogee Foundation's core values for improving the way people worldwide realize their true potential both personally and professionally."

Apogee Foundation President Kenneth Schneider said: "We are thrilled that Fast Pitch! has honored Apogee’s global family of dedicated personnel, and we will continue striving to merit this distinction by sustaining the highest standards of performance in everything we do."

To listen to a podcast interview with Kenneth Schneider on Fast Pitch! Radio discussing The Apogee Foundation's evolution, with an integrated slideshow (requires Quicktime or iTunes) please visit:

http://www.apogeefoundation.org/audio/interviews/apogee_foundation_top_nonprofit.m4a or (for audio interview only, in MP3 format): http://www.apogeefoundation.org/audio/interviews/apogee_foundation_top_nonprofit.mp3

Kenneth Schneider, Apogee's founder, was working as an international financial attorney in Moscow during the 1990's, when he responded to the radical deterioration of the nation's performing arts training resources by galvanizing public and private support for their revitalization.

Recognizing the potential global value of this work, Schneider and his colleagues incorporated The Apogee Foundation in New York in 2004. Since then, Apogee has vastly broadened the reach and impact of its vision through innovative programs designed to discover, develop and celebrate artistic excellence worldwide.

To view the live, online version of this article, visit: http://apogeefoundation.org/media/2009/apogee_foundation_top_nonprofit.php

About The Apogee Foundation ®
The term "apogee" means "the highest point, the culmination." The Apogee Foundation believes in the power of the performing arts to embody and inspire the pursuit of human excellence. By virtue of its innovative approach to implementing this vision, the Foundation has become an internationally recognized platform for the promotion of humanity’s greatest vision of itself.

Contact
Kenneth Schneider, President of The Apogee Foundation
1001 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10018-5460 (USA)
+1.646.224.6960 or +1.888.APOGEE.8
http://www.apogeefoundation.org

Aurience and Apogee Expand their Alliance to Increase Awareness of the World's Great Performance Arts through the Power of Media and Technology

London, UK and New York, NY – Aurience Ltd., a London based media consulting group, and The Apogee Foundation, a New York based philanthropic organization, have announced the expansion of their alliance to integrate media and technology enhancements into Apogee's worldwide programs for discovering, developing and celebrating artistic excellence.

Apogee President Kenneth Schneider, also now serving as CEO of Aurience Media following the successful first phase of this joint venture, said: "Apogee's global family of professionals has achieved a marvelous record of innovation 'achieving the potential of human excellence in the performance arts.' The Aurience team is proud to further this historic legacy, extending the reach, scope and effectiveness of Apogee's global operations through the power of media and technology."

Apogee Awards laureates from America and Moldova performing as part of Apogee Academy Synergy Programs.

The media and technology enhancements to be introduced through the Aurience-Apogee collaboration will include film, television, recording, interactive media and communications products and services designed to:

The media and technology enhancements to be introduced through the Aurience-Apogee collaboration will include film, television, recording, interactive media and communications products and services designed to:

- broaden the exposure and experience of Apogee Awards laureates by documenting and publicizing their skills and achievements;

- maximize the effectiveness and accessibility of Apogee Academy training programs for participants and audiences worldwide; and

- upgrade Apogee Artists events and productions into global showcases promoting gifted emerging artists and celebrating creative excellence.

During the coming season, these efforts will be focused on the ramping up of Apogee's Synergy Programs, which promote intercultural collaboration among great creative talents and spiritual traditions.

To hear an interview with Kenneth Schneider discussing Aurience Ltd's collaboration with The Apogee Foundation, visit: http://www.apogeefoundation.org/audio/interviews/aurience_apogee_kenneth_schneider.mp3

The Aurience-Apogee alliance began in 2006 with the production of radio and television broadcasting of Apogee events in the former Soviet Union, and continued in 2007 with a grant by Aurience of audio-video, photo and computer equipment for the archiving of Apogee programs around the world. In 2008, the two organizations stepped up their collaboration by producing Synergy Program events in New Orleans and Los Angeles, work that will continue at Apogee events planned for Japan and India during 2009. In each case, projects are selected and designed to honor and represent the host cultures' great performing arts and media and technology traditions.

To view the full version of this article, visit: http://www.apogeefoundation.org/media/2008/aurience_apogee_kenneth_schneider.php

About Aurience Ltd. ®
Aurience Ltd. is an international media & technology consulting group with the motto "Work to Inspire." The firm has particular strengths in developing and implementing new forms of East-West market synergies, and special capabilities at the elite levels of the arts and athletics sectors of these industries and regions.

About The Apogee Foundation ®
The term "ap'-o-gee" means "the highest point, the culmination." The Foundation’s vision is guided by the belief in the power of the performance arts to embody and inspire the pursuit of human excellence. By virtue of this vision and Apogee's innovative approach to its implementation, the Foundation has become an internationally recognized platform for the fostering and promotion of mankind’s greatest vision of itself.

Contacts:
Kenneth Schneider, President and CEO of Aurience Ltd
One Heddon Street, Mayfair
London W1B 4BD England
+44.20.7870.3990 or +1.310.928.7808
http://www.AurienceMedia.com

Camran N. Shafii, Senior Vice President of The Apogee Foundation
1001 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10018 USA
+1.646.224.6960 or +1.888.APOGEE.8
http://www.ApogeeFoundation.org

The Apogee Foundation Introduces Programs Fostering Collaboration Among the World's Great Spiritual Traditions

New York, London and Tokyo – The Apogee Foundation has announced that it is continuing the expansion of its international Synergy Programs with new Apogee Academy educational projects, Apogee Artists performance events, and Artists in Residence composition commissions fostering intercultural collaboration among musicians representing the world's great spiritual traditions.

The Foundation's Synergy Programs are designed to provide gifted artists from diverse cultures opportunities for creative empowerment through the sharing of their artistry with each other and international audiences. Apogee's new sacred music programs will feature both young artists during their formative years of training as well as masters at the pinnacle of their careers, and will include the Foundation's first choral programs. These programs also will incorporate specially commissioned musical compositions from Artists in Residence who specialize in sacred and intercultural work, which will be premiered in Apogee World Stage productions taking place around the world.

Apogee President Kenneth Schneider said "The world's great traditions of sacred music represent mankind's most refined creative and spiritual capacities, and inspire excellence in people across all cultures and beyond all boundaries. It is a privilege for Apogee to provide new opportunities to share this beauty and power among people of all nations for the benefit of all."

These programs will continue to enhance Apogee's long term pattern of evolution from its origins as an East-West collaboration seeking to revitalize the collapsing arts education systems of the former Soviet Union to a global philanthropic organization promoting the development of human potential worldwide.

To view the full version of this article, visit: http://www.apogeefoundation.org/media/2008/collaboration_spiritual_traditions.php

About The Apogee Foundation ®
The term "ap'-o-gee" means "the highest point, the culmination." The Foundation’s vision is guided by the belief in the power of the performance arts to embody and inspire the pursuit of human excellence. By virtue of this vision and Apogee's innovative approach to its implementation, the Foundation has become an internationally recognized platform for the fostering and promotion of mankind’s greatest vision of itself.

Contact
Kenneth Schneider, President
The Apogee Foundation
1001 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10018-5460 (USA)
+1.646.224.6960 or +1.888.APOGEE.8
www.apogeefoundation.org

Apogee Expands its Internationally Recognized Programs Promoting Intercultural Collaboration through the Arts

______________________ "Apogee's Synergy Programs not only testify to the unique gifts with which each artist and culture is endowed but also, by bringing these creative forces into dynamic collaboration, demonstrate the power of the arts to engender new forms of understanding and to inspire new ways of living for all mankind." ______________________

New York, London and Tokyo – The Apogee Foundation announced today that it is expanding its internationally recognized Synergy Programs, which are designed to enhance the creative excellence of artists and to enrich the aesthetic awareness of the public through the fostering of collaborative engagement among diverse cultural traditions. A special focus of these programs will be the promotion of mutually empowering collaboration among artists from cultures that have experienced a history of conflict.

Participants will be selected through the Foundation's Apogee Awards programs, which serve to discover artistic talent around the world. Once selected, award laureates will join in Apogee Academy programs offering holistic, multi-disciplinary approaches to developing their fullest potential together. Artist-laureates sharing these experiences will then perform in live and recorded Apogee Artists productions celebrating their shared achievements on the world stage.

In the years since its formation, The Apogee Foundation has evolved from a group of international professionals working to revitalize the collapsing arts education systems of the former Soviet Union into a philanthropic organization fostering human creative potential worldwide. For more information, please visit the Foundation's website: www.apogeefoundation.org

Apogee President Kenneth Schneider said "Apogee's Synergy Programs not only testify to the unique gifts with which each artist and culture is endowed but also, by bringing these creative forces into dynamic collaboration, demonstrate the power of the arts to engender new forms of understanding and to inspire new ways of living for all mankind."

To view the full version of this article, visit: www.apogeefoundation.org/media/2008/intercultural_artistic_collaboration.php

About The Apogee Foundation ®
Apogee is a global philanthropic organization dedicated to discover, develop and celebrate the creative potential of mankind

Apogee Establishes Programs Fostering Sacred Musical Expression Around the World

New York, London and Tokyo – The Apogee Foundation has announced that it is introducing programs to foster intercultural collaborations among sacred musical traditions. These programs will constitute a core component of the Foundation's Synergy Programs, which provide gifted artists from diverse cultures opportunities for creative empowerment through the sharing of their artistry with each other and the world.

Each culture defines the sacred as its supreme aesthetic values. The world's sacred music thus expresses mankind's most profound meanings through its most inspired genius, and serves as one of mankind's most effective means of transcending boundaries to achieve its highest potential.

These new programs thus continue the evolution of Apogee's mission to foster human excellence through the performance arts: from the organization's East-West origins in seeking to revitalize the collapsing arts education systems of the former Soviet Union, a decade ago, to a force promoting the development of human creative potential around the globe, today.

More information about these and other Apogee programs can be found on the Foundation's website: http://www.apogeefoundation.org/programs/index.php

Apogee President Kenneth Schneider said "Sacred musical expression arises at the nexus of mankind's highest creative and spiritual potential, and therefore throughout and among all cultures inspires us to recognize and achieve the apogee of human excellence of which we are capable together."

To view the full version of this article, visit: http://www.apogeefoundation.org/media/2008/sacred_musical_expression.php

About The Apogee Foundation ®
Apogee is an international philanthropic organization dedicated to the development of human excellence in the performance arts. The Foundation is a global leader in discovering, developing and celebrating human creative potential.

Contact
Kenneth Schneider, President
The Apogee Foundation
1001 Avenue of the Americas, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10018-5460 (USA)
+1.646.224.6960 or +1.888.APOGEE.8
www.apogeefoundation.org