The 2018 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music has been awarded to Ottawa-based composer Kelly-Marie Murphy. The $50,000 prize recognises the potential of a piece—yet to be composed—to best encourage discussion around the Competition’s call for submissions: “What is Jewish music?”
Murphy describes her future composition—a double concerto for cello and harp—as drawing from Sephardic folk and liturgical melodies, “to build on this use of source material as a respectful attendant and contributor to a vibrant, living culture.”
The composer adds, “The Azrieli Foundation has created a wonderful opportunity to encourage Canadian composers to write significant works on a grand scale. This tremendous award means acknowledgement of the work that I have done and trust in the work that I have yet to do.”
The work will be premiered at The Azrieli Music Prizes Gala Concert in Montreal on October 15, 2018, by the McGill Chamber Orchestra under guest conductor Yoav Talmi.
Members of the jury included composer Ana Sokolović, conductor Boris Brott, composer Aaron Jay Kernis, musicologist Neil Levin, and conductor/composer Steven Mercurio.
It’s been an eventful few months for Murphy: in June, Symphony Nova Scotia awarded her their Maria Anna Mozart Award, recognising Canada’s top female composers. The prize entails another premiere of a new Murphy commission at the Orchestra’s International Women’s Day concert in March 2018.
Kelly-Marie Murphy has created a number of memorable works for some of Canada’s leading performers and ensembles, including the Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, the Gryphon Trio, and the Cecilia and Afiara String Quartets. She is currently an adjunct professor in the School of Music, University of Ottawa.
The Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music is one of two biennial music prizes offered by the Azrieli Foundation. A separate biennial competition, The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music, honours a recently-composed major work in the Jewish music medium.
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