Notes

Version française...

Flash version here.

Isaac Chalk wins Golden Violin Award
Violist Isaac Chalk has won the Golden Violin Award, a $20,000 prize. Started in 2006 by businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich, the award is presented annually to an outstanding McGill University strings student who is close to completing their studies and has demonstrated the potential for a highly successful performing career. “This is a big honour, and it’s exciting to be selected for it,” said Chalk. LJA

Eleonora Turovsky passes away
Eleonora Turovsky passed away on March 2, 2012. The wife of cellist Yuli Turovsky, she taught for over twenty years in the Université de Montréal’s faculty of music. First violin of the I Musici de Montréal chamber orchestra, she performed in several world tours and recorded close to 60 albums on the Chandos and Analekta labels. Her recording of Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello, Op.7 won the Diapason d’Or. PM         

Pinchas Zukerman will leave NACO in 2015
Pinchas Zukerman plans to step down as Music Director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 2015. From the beginning of his tenure at the NAC, the Israeli-born violinist, violist, conductor and music educator brought an international level of excellence to the orchestra. He expanded the Orchestra and its repertoire, recruited stars such as Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma and taught a generation of performers, conductors and composers. “I am very proud of my work with the musicians of this wonderful orchestra; together we have attained a tremendously high level of playing,” said maestro Zukerman. LJA

Festival du nouveau cinéma wins CAM Grand Prix
The Conseil des arts de Montréal has presented its Grand Prix award to the Festival du nouveau cinéma, one of the oldest Canadian film festivals. The $25,000 award is accompanied by a commemorative work by a Montreal artist. En Piste, the Society for Arts and Technology, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Compagnie Fortier Danse-Création, Liberté magazine, the Orchestre Métropolitain, PME-ART and Aux Écuries were the eight finalists who will each receive $5,000. CC

Mélanie Léonard named CPO associate conductor
Already the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra resident conductor for three seasons, Mélanie Léonard has recently been promoted to associate conductor. She will resume the post this September at the beginning of the 2012-2013 season. She is known for her stage presence and engagement with the public. PM

Stockhausen’s 5-hour opera finally staged
This August, England’s Birmingham Opera will present the first complete staging of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s five-hour Mittwoch aus Licht (Wednesday from Light). One of the world’s most unusual operas, it calls for two choirs and live electronic and acoustic music. Funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and Birmingham city council, it will be a highlight of this summer’s London 2012 festival, the showcase finale of the Cultural Olympiad. LJA

$10K  for innovative music sharing
The 2012 winners of the John Hobday Awards in Arts Management will find new ways to bring music to Canadian audiences by learning from world leaders in the industry. Tricia Baldwin and Erika Beatty, who will each receive $10,000, will use their awards to research cutting-edge music production in other countries by interviewing world leaders who are bringing music to millions through live, recorded and internet-streamed processes and exploring digital and emerging technologies. LJA

Sumo wrestlers to perform in Handel’s Semele
The Canadian Opera Company has cast sumo wrestlers Emanuel Yarbrough and Elmer Gale in the upcoming production of Handel’s Semele. They will perform a three-minute staged match as part of the opera. “I love new opportunities to try anything new,” Gale told the CBC. Gale is just under half Yarbrough’s weight of 625 pounds, but has faced off with Yarbrough in the ring before. LJA

New studies on classical music
Orchestras Canada has revealed the results of its most recent study on music: a six-year study of 50 Canadian orchestras available at www.orchestrascanada.org/resources/statistics-and-research. On the same note, the Future of Music Coalition, an American organization, has just published a report on the pay scales of musiciains which claims that classical musicians only  have three sources of revenue, whereas musicians in general have 42 and singer-songwriters have 25. PM

Betty Webster Award nominations open
Orchestras Canada has just opened nominations for the annual Orchestras Canada Betty Webster Award, which celebrates those who have made outstanding contributions to Canadian orchestras. Established in 2002 to honour Orchestras Canada’s founding Executive Director, this prize pays tribute to Betty Webster’s accomplishments in her advancement of Orchestras Canada and its members. In particular, sustained and significant contributions in the areas of leadership, education and volunteerism are honoured. LJA

Anny Vallentyne SOCMI Scholarship Fund for Excellence 
The Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute (SOCMI), a non-profit educational organization established in 1988, has created the Ann Vallentyne SOCMI Fund for Excellence in honour of the founding SOCMI director. It will support a deserving string student training at the Royal Conservatory’s Young Artists’ Performance Academy, fund a student ensemble to travel to Banff to participate in the Banff International String Quartet Competition’s training program, and bring internationally-celebrated guest artists to coach Academy students. LJA

Translation: Crystal Chan