MSO Concours/Concours OSM

MSO Concours/Concours OSM

MSO Concours/Concours OSM. Annual competition initiated in 1965 as a successor to the Prix Archambault, which had been discontinued in 1962. Its aim has been to discover talented young Canadians, help them continue their training through scholarships, and provide the opportunity for prize winners to appear as soloists with the MSO. Until 1973, one (or several) of the following disciplines was represented each year: piano, string instruments, wind instruments, and voice. Beginning in 1973, piano and voice alternated with strings and winds. The age limit is 25 years for instrumentalists (piano and strings subdivided: under 18, and 18-25), 30 for singers. The auditions, open to the public, have been held each autumn. Juries have been recruited among Canadian, and some foreign, composers, conductors, and performers. The number of participants grew from 30, when the competitions began, to 41 in 1989. The scholarships have been provided by the Volunteers' Committee of the MSO (which also organizes the competition), the Opera Guild Foundation, the Amis de l'art Foundation (Aline-Hector Perrier Scholarship), MSO musicians, and other private donors. In 1990, depending on discipline and category, amounts of $1000 to $1500 (1st prize), $500 to $1000 (2nd prize), and $500 (3rd prize) were awarded.

Among the winners of the early years have been the soprano Nicole Lorange (1965); the pianists Henri Brassard (1965), André Laplante (1968), William Tritt (1970), and Louis Lortie (1972); the cellist Denis Brott (1967); and the violinists Adele Armin (1969) and Malcolm Lowe (1971).

Winners 1973-90

1973 Jacinthe Couture and Stéphane Lemelin, piano

1974 Chantal Juillet and Gilles Lefèvre, violin; Richard Hoenich, bassoon

1975 Adrienne Shannon and Anne-Marie Dubois, piano

1976 Jean-François Rivest and Angèle Dubeau, violin; Pierre-M. Plante, oboe

1977 Jacques Després and Janice Lin, piano; Ronald Costley, baritone

1978 Gary Hoffman and Ofra Harnoy, cello; Céline Leathead, violin; Jeffrey Khaner, flute

1979 Angela Cheng and Lisa Nagatani, piano; Marie-Danielle Parent, soprano

1980 Pascale Beaudry and Élaine Marcil, violin; Dominique Soucy, flute

1981 Bernadene Blaha and Yuval Fichman, piano; Glenda Balkman, soprano

1982 Julie Triquet and Scott Saint John, violin; Philippe Magnan, oboe

1983 Walter Prossnitz, Linda Marie Ippolito, and Nhat Viet Phi, piano; Sandra Graham, mezzo-soprano

1984 Marie Lacasse, violin; Alain Trudel, trombone

1985 Olga Gross, Claude Webster, and Michelle Mares, piano; Lyne Fortin, soprano

1986 Scott Saint John and Martin Beaver, violin; Marie-Andrée Benny, flute

1987 JamieParker and Josée Allard, piano

1988 Leo Grinhauz, cello; James Ehnes, violin

1989 Richard Raymond and Minna Shin, piano; Naida Cole, piano

1990 Hélène Collerette and Terry Tam, violin; Yegor Dyachkov, cello; Joanna G'Froerer, flute