Gift to McGill and UdeM creates hub for collaborative piano in Montreal
A generous $2-million gift from the Azrieli Foundation to McGill University and Université de Montréal (UdeM) has established a joint residency for high-level pianists that specialize in accompanying singers and instrumentalists. Entitled the McGill-UdeM Piano-Vocal Accompaniment Residency, the residency will annually offer six emerging artists a 9-month program intensely focused on the resources necessary to develop their skills as pianists, vocal coaches and collaborators.
This gift is believed to be the largest joint donation to two music faculties in Canada. The Azrieli Foundation has given musicians studying in Montreal the incredible opportunity to benefit from the skills, expertise and resources found at both the Schulich School of Music and the Faculty of Music at UdeM. Inspired by Dr. Sharon Azrieli, award-winning soprano and member of the Azrieli Foundation’s Board of Directors, the project aims to provide students with the foundation to become exceptional collaborative pianists, at ease working with the highest level of singer.
Led by Professors Francis Perron (UdeM) and Michael McMahon (McGill) — two renowned pianists and vocal coaches — with cross-institutional coordinator Marie-Michelle Raby, the residency will focus on art song and operatic repertoire. The inaugural cohort hails from Canada, France, Brazil and the United States and will begin their studies in Fall 2022. Each artist will have a full scholarship, living allowance, and career grant once they have completed the program. The program will allow for study with some of the world’s most acclaimed artists including singers, pianists and conductors and experts in various specialties such as lieder, opera, and lyric diction.
The impact of this new residency will be felt throughout the Montreal music scene, with numerous public concerts and masterclasses offered by visiting artists. Extending far beyond its home city, the national music community will undoubtably reap the benefits from the influx of specialized collaborative artists, elevating Canada’s presence on the global opera- and music-performance stage for years to come.
In addition to the 2015 funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Quebec government allowing the two universities to create a research hub for the study of live performance by linking McGill’s Multimedia Room and UdeM’s Salle Claude Champagne, the program will allow UdeM and McGill to continue enriching the identity and culture of Montreal in the artistic world.