Miami, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/15/2009 -- The Cintas Foundation has announced that Sergio Barroso, Oriente Lopez and Fabian Almazan have been selected as finalists for the 2009 – 2010 Brandon Fradd Award in Music Composition.

The 2009 jury for this prestigious award included Shelton Berg, Dean of the Frost School of Music at University of Miami, Steven Burke, Independent Composer, and Paul Chihara, Composer and Professor of Theory and Composition at University of Los Angeles.

“We are pleased to recognize the talent of these three fine music composers,” said Cintas Foundation President Hortensia Sampedro. “We sincerely appreciate the work of the jury in reviewing the compositions of these applicants.”

Brandon Fradd, managing director of Apollo Medical Partners, generously funded the endowment for the fellowship in music composition, which is now an annual fellowship. Since 1963, the Cintas Foundation has awarded more than 300 fellowships to artists of Cuban lineage who reside outside of Cuba.

The award has been granted to many artists who have gone on to play an influential role in the development of their disciplines. Past music fellows include Mario Bauza (known as the father of AfroCuban jazz), Jose Bernardo, Aldo Rafael Forte, Julian Orbon, Tania Leon, and Orlando Jacinto Garcia.

The Selection Program is administered by the Cintas Foundation Board and the Cintas Fellows Program at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University.

For more information about the Cintas Foundation and past fellows and about The Frost Art Museum at FIU, please visit the websites, http://www.cintasfoundation.org and http://www.frostartmuseum.org or call 305 348-2890.

About The Cintas Foundation
The Cintas Foundation was established with funds from the estate of the late Oscar B. Cintas (b. Sagua La Grande, Cuba 1887 – d. New York City, 1957), a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. Since 1963, the Cintas Foundation has awarded more than 300 fellowships to artists of Cuban lineage who reside outside of Cuba.

About the Frost Art Museum - Florida International University
The Frost is an AAM accredited museum and Smithsonian affiliate. The museum is located at 10975 SW 17thSt. across from the Blue garage and adjacent to the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on the University Park campus. Its hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. The Frost is closed on Mondays and most legal holidays. For more information, please visit http://www.frostartmuseum.org or call 305-348-2890.