Composer Cecilia Livingston has been awarded the 2024 Louis Applebaum Composers Award in recognition of her work in the fields of theatre, music theatre, dance and opera. The prize comes with a $15,000 CAD cash award.
“I’m honoured to receive the Louis Applebaum Composers Award, and I thank the Ontario Arts Foundation and the jury for this wonderful recognition,” said Cecilia Livingston in a statement. “The Award’s financial support is a significant investment in me as an artist, and perhaps even more rewarding is its powerful statement of trust: in my creative path, in the music I write, and in how my work connects with audiences at home and abroad.”
Composer Cecilia Livingston
With a melodic contemporary style, Livingston has specialized in music for voice. She has been composer-in-residence at the Canadian Opera Company since 2022, and prior to that, was composer-in-residence at Glyndebourne from 2019 until 2022.
After earning her doctorate in composition from the University of Toronto, Cecilia was a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellow in Music at King’s College London. Her papers have been published in various arts journals.
Cecilia’s compositions have been performed throughout North America and Europe, including at Teatro Colón, Teatro Carlo Felice, Bang on a Can’s summer festival, and in recital at Koerner Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Barbican, and the Kennedy Center. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Tafelmusik, and Soundstreams have all performed her pieces.
She is Vice-President of the Canadian League of Composers, and an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre.
Assessor’s Verdict
The Jury for this year’s award included: Alice Ping Yee Ho (Toronto) composer, pianist and the 2016 Applebaum Composers Award laureate; William Lamoureux (Toronto) composer, arranger, producer, concertmaster, and violist; and Rick Sacks (Toronto) composer, percussionist, artistic director, music director, and sound artist.
Their choice was unanimous. “We are moved by Cecilia Livingston’s beautiful and engaging compositions, and her commitment to innovation and excellence. Each work shares a deeply personal voice full of imagination and originality. She has made a profound contribution to contemporary opera in Canada and around the world.”
The Louis Applebaum Composers Fund
The Louis Applebaum Composers Fund was established in 1998 by its namesake, Louis Applebaum, through the Ontario Arts Foundation in order to publicly recognize the talents of composers. The award is given every two years, and alternates its focus from: media; theatre, music theatre, dance or opera; jazz; and composition for young people.
Previous winners include R. Murray Schafer (1999, lifetime achievement award), Alex Pauk and Alexina Louie (film & television), and Eleanor Daley (composition for young people).
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