The Arts & Letters Club of Toronto has announced the winners of the very first Emerging Canadian Composers Competition. The Ezra Duo (viola and piano) performed works composed by the three finalists at a concert on December 8.
The placement of the three finalists emerged:
- First Prize: Luis Ramirez
- Second Prize: Simon Alami
- Third Prize: Fiona Marchetto
The jury was made up of Soundstreams Artistic Director (and oboist) Lawrence Cherney, and Canadian composers David Jaeger and Alexina Louie.
The Winners
Luis Ramirez, First Prize for his work Azure ($1,000)
A native of Aguascalientes, Mexico, Mexican-Canadian composer Luis Ramirez (b. 1992) is today based in Toronto. His work Azure is composed in four movements that evoke the rhythms of a quick road trip across the Manitoba prairies, incorporating its seasonal changes.
Luis began playing the piano as a child, with an early interest in contemporary music and composition. Since coming to Canada, he’s been recognized as a TSO NextGen Composer, and served as a Composer Fellow with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Accolades include first prize in the Large Ensemble SOCAN Awards and the CMC Prairie Region Emerging Composer Competition, among others.
Ramirez’ work is characterized by its rhythmic textures and evocative and cinematic sensibility, one that incorporates elements of Mexican folklore. His music has been performed across North America by ensembles such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and at festivals from Ottawa’s Chamberfest to the Festival Cervantino in Mexico, the Casalmaggiore Festival in Italy, along with points in between.
He graduated from Brandon University, where he studied both piano and composition, and is currently completing his doctorate under Randolph Peters at York University.
Simon Alami, Second Prize for his work Tea with Debussy & Pärt in Casablanca ($600)
A native of Fez, Morocco, composer Simon Alami (b. 1966) is based in Montréal. As a musician and composer, he is largely self taught, and has been exploring his passion for music through singing, instrumental performance, and composition since he was a child.
He went on to study and benefit from mentoring by Grammy nominated composer Robert Paterson, along with acclaimed Peruvian composer Antonio Gervasoni and composer/orchestrator Thomas Goss (Billy Ocean, Nikki Yanofsky), and various masterclasses. His talents have been recognized by awards such as the 1st prize in Composition at the 6th Swiss International Music Competition in Lugano, Switzerland.
Simon’s voice as a composer blends varying influences, incorporating diverse traditions, including those of Morocco. He uses unconventional harmonies and both impressionistic and minimalist techniques. In his prize-winning work, he imagines an intimate Moroccan style tea with Arvo Pärt and Claude Debussy in a musical conversation.
Fiona Marchetto, Third Prize for her work Thunderstorm ($400)
Fiona Marchetto grew up in Calgary, Alberta, but is now based in Montréal, where she is studying at McGill’s Schulich School of Music. The multi-genre composer and violinist recently released a single with vocalist Kalika Thibodeau.
Her prize-winning work Thunderstorm is based on the poem by Emily Dickinson of the same name. Like the poem, Marchetto’s composition aims to recreate the gathering power of a coming storm, from the growing winds to the violent flash of thunder and lightning.
As a violinist, Fiona was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2024, and went on their acclaimed tour of Ontario and Western Canada.
Congratulations to all three, and to the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto for their support of Canadian talent.
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