Saxophonist Wallace Halladay wins the 2009 Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts

Saxophonist Wallace Halladay wins the 2009 Virginia Parker Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts

Ottawa, June 17, 2009 ’Äì Toronto saxophonist Wallace Halladay is the 2009 winner of the Virginia Parker Prize, announced today the Canada Council for the Arts.

The $25,000 prize was established in 1982 by Virginia Parker Moore for performers of classical music under age 32, who demonstrate outstanding talent and musicianship.

Saxophonist Wallace Halladay captures the qualities of the modern virtuoso, being at home in numerous styles, from the classical repertoire to the performance of contemporary music. Mr. Halladay has performed the concerti of Ibert, Schmitt, Husa, Scelsi and Donatoni, as well as premieres of Michael Colgrass, Mauricio Kagel and Scott Good. A soloist with the Vancouver Symphony and the Esprit Orchestra, he also inaugurated the Kitchener’ÄëWaterloo Symphony's Intersections Series.

Mr. Halladay recorded the two saxophone Sequenzas of Berio and the Colgrass concerto for NAXOS. He is in demand as a performer with new music groups across Canada and the United States. He holds a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, and studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Arno Bornkamp. Mr. Halladay has taught at Memorial University and Eastman, and currently teaches at the University of Toronto. He is a Conn’ÄëSelmer Artist and plays Selmer (Paris) saxophones.

An image of Mr. Halladay can be downloaded from the Canada Council image gallery. For a list of previous winners of the Virginia Parker Prize, visit the Canada Council website at www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes.

Mr. Halladay was selected by a peer assessment committee consisting of Terence Fullerton (Vancouver), Jane Leibel (St. John's, NL), Claire Marchand (Montreal) and Katharine Rapoport (Toronto).

General information

In addition to its principal role of promoting and fostering the arts, the Canada Council for the Arts administers and awards many prizes and fellowships in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural and health sciences, engineering, and arts management. These prizes and fellowships recognize the achievements of outstanding Canadian artists, scholars, and administrators. The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to raising public awareness and celebration of these exceptional people and organizations on both a national and international level.

Please visit our website (www.canadacouncil.ca) for a complete listing of these awards.