{"id":70750,"date":"2021-04-01T12:37:17","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T16:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=70750"},"modified":"2021-04-08T15:34:19","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T19:34:19","slug":"feature-cant-im-ready-two-award-winners-paths-winning-canadas-largest-composition-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2021\/04\/01\/feature-cant-im-ready-two-award-winners-paths-winning-canadas-largest-composition-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE | From I Can\u2019t To I\u2019m Ready! \u2014 Two Award-Winners\u2019 Paths To Winning Canada\u2019s Largest Composition Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

We caught up with Azrieli Music Prize laureates Keiko Devaux and Kelly-Marie Murphy to discuss their experiences in the classical music world, and why they almost didn\u2019t apply.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Keiko
Keiko Devaux at the 2020 AMP Gala Rehearsal (Photo: Alain Beauchesne)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Partnership with The Azrieli Foundation<\/a><\/span>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

With a substantial cash prize \u2014 the highest for any Canadian composition \u2014 and an open submission process, the Azrieli Music Prize<\/a> competition draws from a deep well of applicants. Still, in 2020, only about 11% of all the applicants were female, and in the Jewish Commission category, that drops to only 6%.<\/p>\n

A look at two prior winners \u2014 Keiko Devaux<\/a>, who won the inaugural Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music in 2020, and Kelly-Marie Murphy, who was awarded the 2018 Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music \u2014 offers insights and inspiration.<\/p>\n

In awarding Keiko the Canadian Commission, the Jury wrote that her music was \u201cinteresting, authentic, and in a whole different category. Her compositions are mysterious, compelling and beautiful. Her proposal exhibits a clever and original inquiry into what it means to be Canadian that is both honest and, in a way, hard-hitting.\u201d<\/p>\n

She is currently a Carrefour composer-in-residence at the National Arts Centre until 2022, and completing her Ph.D. at l\u2019Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al. Her exposure to music began early. \u201cI played piano from the age of five,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Even at age five, when she began playing, she\u2019d find herself improvising. \u201cI was attracted to the creative end of the process.\u201d Still, the road to the role of a classical composer was by no means direct. Her first impetus in music was interpretation, and as a performer, she played pop and jazz. \u201cI found myself attracted to the collective writing process,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Being a woman undeniably colours the experience of working in music. \u201cI think it can be an obstacle, and it can be a driving force,\u201d Devaux says. \u201cThere are definitely countless stories where you feel othered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kelly-Marie
Kelly-Marie Murphy 2018 AMP Gala Rehearsal with Yoav Talmi (Photo: Danylo Bobyk)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Kelly-Marie Murphy<\/a> studied voice and piano, composition was never in her sights as a student. \u201cI think I\u2019m a composer by accident,\u201d she says. \u201cI discovered, as I got into these things, that I didn\u2019t like being in front of an audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy\u2019s original intention was to study vocal jazz arrangement, which required taking a general composition program. But, with no direct role models, she still didn\u2019t quite see herself in the role. \u201cWhat we are presented with is the music of history \u2014 dead white guys,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t identifying and seeing myself,\u201d Devaux agrees. She notes, however, the importance of new perspectives and the growing movement to recognize the forgotten women composers of history. \u201cIt\u2019s quite interesting to see that awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up when I did, wanting to be a musician or a composer, I naturally had a lot of male role models,\u201d Devaux says. \u201cAs I grew as a composer, I noticed this imbalance and actively sought out to find more diverse role models, and it has become less of an issue. I have a very different relationship with my identity as a composer now, as I now see myself more in these models.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her work, Devaux is still influenced by her history as a live performer and blends electroacoustic elements in her work. \u201cI think it\u2019s mostly being aware of the sonic experience,\u201d she says. \u201cI want the experience to be moving and felt. I don\u2019t want it to be so removed or exploratory that it becomes inaccessible,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s important to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jury member and composer Ana Sokolovi wrote about Murphy\u2019s work in her decision. \u201cKelly-Marie Murphy is one of our best-known Canadian composers. Her work is honest, direct, and of great competence, and we are confident that she will give us a \u00adwork that is worthy of the Prize.\u201d Her works have been performed by many ensembles, including the Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras. Being a composer also means making your work \u2014\u00ad and yourself in a sense \u2014 vulnerable.<\/p>\n

For any composer, there is outside pressure. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fear about being not smart enough or not complicated enough,\u201d Devaux says. \u201cI like connecting with audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your music was enjoyed or understood by the masses, you were doing something wrong,\u201d Murphy says. Murphy openly acknowledges her critics. \u201cThere are two things you can do about that stuff. I chose to put it out there,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you believe the reviews that tell you you\u2019re fantastic, you have to also believe those that tell you you\u2019re unoriginal,\u201d she notes. \u201cMusic in the end is a form of communication, and one that I\u2019m able to work in. I want to communicate with my public. But that that doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019m trying to dumb it down in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n

COULOIR performs Kelly-Marie Murphy’s prize-winning Double Concerto for cello and harp “En el Escuro es Todo Uno” (In the Darkness All is One) with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in Smetana Hall, Prague, September 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n