Schulich's Opus Award winners
Congratulations to the many members of the Schulich community who brought home prizes from the twenty-third edition of the Opus Awards! The annual Gala was held this Sunday, January 19, 2020, and once again testified to the many contributions made by Schulich musicians to Quebec’s diverse and vibrant music scene.
The Opus Awards Gala was hosted by actress, mezzo-soprano, and oboist Florence Blain-Mbaye, who will be featured as the narrator for the upcoming McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble concert Cameron Chameleon & L’enfant d’éléphant. Several McGill winners were also interviewed live immediately after receiving their awards. You can check out these interviews and see the full list of winners at prixopus.qc.ca.
Read below for a summary of Schulich faculty, staff, students, and alumni who won prizes!
Concert of the Year – Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music | Musica Notturna, Arion Orchestre Baroque, Enrico Onofri, conductor and soloist, May 2 to 5, 2019
Many Schulich early musicians play regularly with Arion Baroque, including Schulich faculty Hank Knox and Sylvain Bergeron and alumni Matthew Jennejohn, Vincent Lauzer, Tanya LaPerrière, Camille Paquette-Roy, Alexa Raine-Wright, Sari Tsuji, and Amanda Keesmat. Schulich alum and faculty member Claire Guimond also received a special award as Artistic Director of the Year.
Concert of the Year – Classical, Romantic, post-Romantic and Impressionist music AND Concert of the Year – Montréal | Le Château de Barbe-Bleue, Orchestre Métropolitain, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor, Kerson Leong, violin, Michèle Losier, mezzo-soprano, John Relyea, bass, March 1, 2019
Alumnus Michèle Losier was the mezzo-soprano soloist in Bartók’s opera Le Château de Barbe-Bleue (Bluebeard’s Castle) with the Orchestre Métropolitain, led by honorary doctorate recipient Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The OM was also awarded Album of the Year – Classical, Romantic, post-Romantic and Impressionist music for their recording of Sibelius’s First Symphony.
Concert of the Year – Musique actuelle and Electroacoustic music | Cathédrale-Métal, QUASAR quatuor de saxophones, June 6, 2019
Schulich saxophone faculty Marie-Chantal Leclair has been QUASAR’s Artistic Director since the ensemble’s inception in 1991.
Concert of the Year – Multiple repertoires | Opéras!, Galileo (formerly the Orchestre symphonique de la Vallée-du-Haut-Saint-Laurent), Daniel Constantineau, conductor, soloists from the Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal, May 26 and June 6, 2019
Le Nouvel Opéra, led by Schulich faculty member and soprano Suzie Leblanc, collaborated with the Atelier lyrique and Galileo on this concert featuring French Baroque airs de cour as well as a one-act Rossini opera. Schulich student Guillaume Villeneuve is the concertmaster for outstanding regional orchestra Galileo, many of whose members are also Schulich community musicians.
Production of the Year – Young audiences | Airs de jeunesse – La musique au cinéma : Génial!, Orchestre Métropolitain, Nicolas Ellis, conductor, Eva Lesage, cello, Mathias Leclerc, oboe, Catherine St-Arnaud, soprano, Martin Carli, scientist, April 6, 2019
Nicolas Ellis, who serves as an official Artistic Collaborator for the Orchestre Métropolitain, earned his master’s degree in conducting at McGill.
Album of the Year – Modern and Contemporary music | John Zorn, Quatuor Molinari, ATMA Classique
Frédéric Lambert earned his doctorate in performance at McGill, serves on the Schulich faculty, and plays viola in this preeminent new music ensemble.
Album of the Year – World music and Traditional Québec music | Skye Consort & Emma Björling, Skye Consort and Emma Björling, Leaf Music Inc.
Featuring McGill alums Amanda Keesmat and Alex Kehler, this disc appeared on the Leaf Music label, a Halifax-based production company founded by McGill alum Jeremy VanSlyke.
International Achievement | Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, 2019 European Tour
OSM conductor Kent Nagano is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the Schulich School of Music. This tour speaks to the world-class calibre of Quebec orchestras, which contain too many Schulich faculty and alumni to name in one list.
Performer of the Year | Ensemble Paramirabo
Directed by Schulich alumnus Jeffrey Stonehouse, flute, Ensemble Paramirabo also features doctoral student David Therrien-Brongo.
Musical Event of the Year | Rythmopolis, Ensemble à percussion Sixtrum
Sixtrum brings together six virtuosic percussionists, including McGill alums Philip Hornsey and Olivier Tremblay-Noël, doctoral student David Therrien-Brongo, and our very own Schulich percussion faculty Kristie Ibrahim and Fabrice Marandola. The group also participated in Nouvel Ensemble Moderne’s thirtieth anniversary concert, which was awarded Concert of the Year – Modern and Contemporary music.
Album of the Year – Jazz | Equilibrium, Samuel Blais, Les Disques ODD Sound
Saxophonist and composer Samuel Blais earned his Bachelor's in jazz performance from Schulich, and his new album features compositions for sax, bass, drums, and piano.
Discovery of the Year | Gentiane MG
Pianist, composer, and recent Schulich alum Gentiane Michaud-Gagnon was also named the Révélation Jazz Radio-Canada 2018-2019.
Professor Marandola is pictured with his award, above! Congratulations to these stellar musicians and to all who were nominated.
