The Canada Council has announced the winners of three of the most prestigious arts prizes in the country, each with a cash award of between $7,500 and $50,000.
The Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts ($50,000)
The Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts has been awarded to scenographer Danièle Lévesque. Based in Montréal, Lévesque is a teacher at the National Theatre School of Canada and has worked in set design for opera and dance for over 35 years.
“I try to create strong images that captivate — in that respect, my exploratory approach is more cinematic,” said Danièle Lévesque.
The prize, which comes with $50,000 cash, recognizes the highest level of artistic excellence and distinguished career achievement by a Canadian professional artist in music, theatre or dance.
The Virginia Parker Prize ($25,000)
The Virginia Parker Prize is awarded to cellist Stéphane Tétreault, and includes $25,000. “Collaborating with exceptional musicians has always been a source of inspiration and motivation for me,” said Stéphane Tétreault. “Discovering new ways of considering the music we love, being open to new ideas and keeping the spontaneity of a performance alive have been a source of inspiration for me for many years.”
The prize recognizes musicians under the age of 32 who demonstrate talent, outstanding musicianship and artistic excellence, and who make a valuable contribution to creative life in Canada and beyond.
Tétreault has performed with Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Philharmonic and the Orchestre Métropolitain, including Orchestre’s first European tour with Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
The Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music ($7,500)
The Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music is awarded to composer Alec Hall for his work Vertigo (2018), which includes a cash prize of $7,500.
The Toronto born composer is currently a 2017 Guggenheim Fellow working out of New York City. Hall’s compositions have been performed by the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, JACK Quartet, ICE, Continuum, and the Cecilia String Quartet.
Congrats to all of these amazing artists!
#LUDWIGVAN
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