In 2003, Austrian composer and jazz-fusion keyboardist, Joe Zawinul, was honored to lend his name to the Zawinul Musikschule in Gumpoldskirchen, Austria. At the time, Joe said, “Music is one of the few forms of communication that enables interpersonal communication and understanding between people without language barriers and intellectual boundaries.”
Before his death, Joe began fashioning an exchange program between music students at the Zawinul Musikschule in Austria, his home country, and music students in America, Joe’s adopted country. And that’s the impetus for the Zawinul Foundation for Achievement.
Established in 2013 by Tony Zawinul, the Zawinul Foundation for Achievement fulfills Joe’s dream to encourage and cultivate the pursuit of performing arts careers in young, promising musicians. It draws from Joe’s personal experiences as an international musician whose classical music roots are based in his early days of music studies in Vienna and whose career exposed him to the cultures and music of the world. The Zawinul Foundation for Achievement allows students to benefit from this precious connection.
The Zawinul Foundation for Achievement aims to further the interests and passions of Joe Zawinul by creating programs, events and partnerships that reflect their commitment to music education as a life-transforming experience.
