Winners of the 70th edition of the OSM Standard Life Competition

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate distribution

The OSM reveals the identities of the winners of the 70th edition
of the OSM Standard Life Competition
(piano and percussion)

Montreal, November 21, 2009 ’Äì The winner of the OSM Standard Life Grand Prize is Jan Lisiecki, pianist from Alberta, born in 1995. The 70th edition of the OSM Standard Life Competition wound up after four days of auditions (semi-finals and finals) in Tanna Schulich Recital Hall at McGill University’Äôs Schulich School of Music. Twenty-one (21) competitors took part in the semi-finals of the Competition, this year devoted to piano and percussion.

The jury chairman and judge (semifinals, finals - piano and percussion)  was Henry Fogel. Mr Fogel is  Dean of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University as of July 2009, President and CEO of the American Symphony Orchestra League from 2003 to 2008, and President and CEO of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2003. "The 70th OSM Standard Life Competition was an extraordinary and thrilling event to be part of. The musical quality was exceedingly high, the world class jury was a model of what a competition jury should be, and the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal's  staff and volunteers did a fabulous job in organizing it. It has been a privilege for me to be a part of it" said Henry Fogel.

                      

The jury for the semi-finals in the piano category was made up of Michel Bˆ©roff, concert pianist and Professor at the Paris Conservatoire national supˆ©rieur de musique et de danse, and Robert McDonald, Professor at The Juilliard School of Music in New York. In the percussion category, it was made up of Louis Charbonneau, Principal Timpani with the OSM from 1950 to 1998, and Emmanuel Sˆ©journˆ©, percussionist and Head of Percussion Department of the Strasbourg Conservatoire.

For the finals, the following judges joined the semi finals’Äô jury: Earl Blackburn, Senior Vice-President and Agent with Opus 3 Artists, and Walter Homburger, Artist Manager since 1947 and General Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1962 to 1987.

The jury for the preliminary round, in the piano category, consisted of Lise Boucher, pianist and Head of the competition Prix d'Europe, Stˆ©phane Lemelin, concert pianist, Professor and Chair of the School of Music at Ottawa University, and member of Trio Hochelaga, and Natalie Pepin, pianist and Professor Emeritus at Universitˆ© de Montrˆ©al. In the percussion category, it was made up of Ian Bernard, Principal Timpani at the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Serge Desgagnˆ©s, Principal Percussion with the OSM, and Carol Lemieux, percussionist and Director of the Conservatoire de musique de Quˆ©bec.

THE RESULTS

OSM Standard Life GRAND PRIZE

The winner of the OSM Standard Life Grand Prize is Jan Lisiecki, pianist from Alberta born in 1995. This prize is awarded to one of the first-prize winners (piano and percussion) who made the strongest impression during the Competition.

In addition to receiving a $10,000 scholarship offered by Standard Life, the winner will perform in aconcert with the OSM, under the direction of Roberto Minczuk, on January 12, 2010 in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des Arts, as part of the OSM 2009-2010 Season. The Grand Prize OSM  Standard Life also include:

• The Espace musique Prize: a professional recording in one of the CBC studios

• A recital at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, as part of the 2010-2011 NACC season

• A concert with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra in St. John’Äôs, Newfoundland, as part of the 2010-2011 NSO season

• The Orford Arts Centre Prize: a recital at the Orford Arts Centre presented in 2010

The first prizes

• A $10,000 Standard Life Scholarship, awarded in each of the three categories

Piano category (class A): the winner is Tristan Longval-Gagnˆ©, Quˆ©bec, (21 years old)

Piano category (class B): the winner is Jan Lisiecki, Alberta (14 years old)

Percussion category: the winner is Benjamin Duinker, Nouvelle-ˆâcosse, (26 years old)

The second prizes

• A $5,000 scholarship, offered by Marjorie and Gerald Bronfman, piano category, class A.

The winner is: Alexander Malikov, Alberta, (20 years old)

• The $5,000 Rosemary-Bell and Gabrielle-Cˆ¥tˆ© scholarship, offered by the OSM Volunteer Committee, piano category, class B

The winner is: Meagan Milatz, Saskatchewan (16 years old)

• The $5,000 V. E. Lambert scholarship, offered by the Succession Lambert-Fortier-Gagnon, percussion category

The winner is: Clara Warnaar, Quˆ©bec, (18 years old)

The third prizes

• The $2,000 V.E. Lambert scholarship, offered by the Succession Lambert-Fortier-Gagnon, piano category, class A

The winner is: Olivier Hˆ©bert-Bouchard, Quˆ©bec, (21 years old)

• The $2,000 Aline-Hector-Perrier scholarship, offered by the Fonds Les Amis de l'Art, piano category, class B

The winner is: Simon Boily Proulx, Quˆ©bec, (16 years old)

• A $2,000 scholarship, offered by an anonymous contributor, percussion category

The winner is: Noam Bierstone, Ontario, (19 years old)

                                        

Prizes for the best performance of a Canadian work

• A $2,000 scholarship, offered by the Groupe Archambault, piano category, class A

The winner is: Tristan Longval-Gagnˆ©, Quˆ©bec (21 years old)

Marc-Andrˆ© Hamelin, Etude no 2, "Prˆ©lude et fugue"

• A $2,000 scholarship, offered by the OSM Musicians Association, piano category, class B

The winner is: Jan Lisiecki, Alberta (14 years old)

Marjan Mozetich, Prˆ©lude, extrait de Three Pieces for Piano

• A $2,000 scholarship, offered by the OSM Volunteer Committee, percussion category

The winner is: Benjamin Duinker, Nouvelle-ˆâcosse (26 years old)

Alcides Lanza, Diastemas

The other prizes

• The Paul Merkelo scholarship: open to all participants and awarded by a jury chaired by Paul Merkelo, principal trumpet of the OSM, the $2,000 scholarship aims at encouraging musical excellence and providing relevant financial assistance to a candidate's proposed training program

The winner is: Charles Richard-Hamelin, (piano), Quˆ©bec, (26 years old)

• The Banff Centre Prize: three scholarships covering tuition and accommodation for a three-week session in the Music and Sound Department at the Banff Centre for the Arts, in 2010

¬…         Piano category (class A): the winner is Charles Richard-Hamelin, Quˆ©bec, (26 years old)

¬…         Piano catˆ©gorie (class B): the winner is Jan Lisiecki, Alberta, (14 years old)

¬…         Percussion catagory : the winner is Clara Warnaar, Quˆ©bec, (18 years old)

• The Domaine Forget Prize: one scholarship covering tuition and accommodation for a two-week music session within the framework of the Rencontres de musique nouvelle en Charlevoix, at the Domaine Forget in 2010

The winner is: Noam Bierstone, (percussion), Ontario, (19 years old)

• The Orford Arts Centre Prize: three scholarships covering tuition and accommodation for a two-week music session at the Orford Arts Centre, in 2010

¬…         Piano category (class A): the winner is Tristan Longval-Gagnˆ©, Quˆ©bec, (21 years old)

¬…         Piano category (class B): the winner is Simon Boily Proulx, Quˆ©bec, (16 years old)

¬…         Piano category (class B): the winner is Meagan Milatz, Saskatchewan, (16 years old)

• The Toronto Summer Music Festival Prize: two scholarships covering tuition for a music session lasting up to four weeks at the Toronto Summer Music Academy, in 2010

¬…         Piano category (class A): the winner is Alexander Malikov, Alberta, (20 years old)

¬…         Piano category (class B): the winner is Benjamin Woo, Colombie-Britannique (18 years old)

The Orchestre symphonique de Montrˆ©al congratulates all the winners and thanks the partners who made it possible to stage this competition. Sponsored for 18 years by the Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada, the OSM Standard Life Competition, this year under the presidency of Mr. Jean ˆâlie, is a Canada-wide competition offering $100,000 in prizes and scholarships.

About Standard Life

Standard Life is an important Scottish asset-management group that carries out its activities around the world, including in Canada for more than 175 years. Today it specializes in investment products for retirement and in insurance for individuals and for companies. With 2,000 employees based in Montreal and across Canada, the Canadian operation is Standard Life’Äôs largest outside the U.K.

For more information: www.standardlife.ca

The Orchestre symphonique de Montrˆ©al is presented by Hydro-Quˆ©bec

Info: OSM.ca