The New York Times reports that philanthropist Alberto W. Vilar and conductor Lorin Maazel have announced the creation of a new $5 million foundation to administer a competitive training program for aspiring young conductors.

The creation of the organization, called the Maazel/Vilar Conductors' Competition Foundation, comes at a time when several national and regional orchestras are busy conducting searches for new music directors.

"If you look around today, there are problems," remarked Maazel at a news conference at Carnegie Hall. "Young musicians are thrown to the lions before they are ready to deal with the problems of real-life conducting."

Among the foundation's activities will be an international conducting competition, to be held in September. Finalists from the competition will be invited to participate in a week of rehearsals and performances with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Carnegie Hall in New York City, while a smaller group will be awarded cash prizes (with a top prize of $45,000) and training sessions with Maazel. The foundation also plans to create a mentoring program for conductors under the age of 35 who have finished music school.