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Appointments
Photo: Sasha Onyshchenko
On April 23, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal announced the renewal of Rafael Payare’s tenure for a five-year term. His initial term began in 2021 when he was appointed by unanimous decision as the orchestra’s ninth music director. Payare’s contract has been renewed through 2031–32, now with the new title of music and artistic director to reflect his desire to shape the future of the OSM beyond programming and his presence on the podium. Among his achievements with OSM, Payare has led them on international tours to South Korea, the United States, and two to Europe. He created Programme El Sistema OSM to enable some 120 young students from Montréal-Nord to study orchestral music free of charge and has recorded four albums with the orchestra for Pentatone.
Photo: Louis-Charles Dumais
Outhere Music, the international group of labels that acquired Canada’s flagship classical label Analekta in 2022, will now entrust its management to Anne-Marie Talbot, who has been part of the team since 2021. The newly renamed Analekta Musique will be operated by Talbot’s company 17 Aylwin Inc., which has specialized in artist management for more than 10 years. “The label will continue to support Canadian classical musicians and bring their talent to international audiences. We also aim to open the door to greater diversity, notably by providing a platform for Indigenous classical artists in Canada,” says Talbot.
Canadian International Organ Competition (CIOC) has announced Andrew Forrest as executive director. He previously held senior leadership roles for more than two decades at Orgues Létourneau, where he served as president from 2022 to 2026. Forrest led the organization which specializes in the design and manufacture of custom pipe organs for leading institutions in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Founded in 2006, CIOC’s mission is to celebrate and promote the art of organ music in Canada and internationally. CIOC is recognized as one of the world’s most important organ competitions.
Prizes
Elton John & Emily D’Angelo at Glenn Gould Prize Gala. Photo: Shawn Golderg
The Glenn Gould Foundation has announced that Elton John, laureate of the 15th Glenn Gould Prize, has selected acclaimed Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo as the recipient of the prestigious Glenn Gould Protégé Prize. The award was presented to D’Angelo at the Glenn Gould Prize Gala on May 9 in Toronto. Established in 1987 by The Glenn Gould Foundation to honour the legacy of the legendary Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, the prize is awarded biennially and includes a $100,000 cash award for the laureate, who personally selects an exceptional young artist of any nationality and from any artistic discipline to receive the $25,000 Glenn Gould Protégé Prize. D’Angelo is one of the most sought-after artists in today’s opera world. In recent seasons, she has made a series of major debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Berlin State Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Paris Opera, and the Bayerische Staatsoper. “Like countless millions, Elton John’s music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” says D’Angelo. “To be recognized by one of the greatest recording and performing artists of all time is profoundly humbling and inspiring. Through his brilliance and individuality, Elton rose to the status of an absolute icon, reshaping the landscape of music and pop culture.”
On April 22, the 45th annual National Arts Centre Orchestra Bursary Competition announced flutist Annie Noël-de-Tilly as winner of this year’s $10,000 grand prize. She also received the first-ever $1,500 Peter Webster Award for Best Concerto. The prime objective of the competition is to encourage the pursuit of excellence from young instrumentalists aspiring to orchestral careers.
Photo: Stuart Lowe
The National Youth Orchestra of Canada has announced the winners of the 2026 Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures Prizes. The awards recognize and support the finest young classical musicians in Canada, ages 16 to 24. Alberta’s Sabina Sandvoss becomes the first female cellist to win first prize ($25,000), while British Columbia’s Davin Mar becomes the first violist to win second prize ($15,000). A special concert at Toronto’s Koerner Hall on July 18 will celebrate the two young artists’ achievements and will feature Sandvoss in a performance of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the NYO Canada orchestra.
Competitions
The 49th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition (E-Gré) for the performance of Canadian and contemporary music has announced its 2026 prize winners. Toronto-based Canadian-Austrian coloratura soprano and violinist Aemilia Moser took first prize, receiving a cash award of $6,000, as well as a cross-Canada tour in October and November 2026 including $5,000 in performance fees. Second-prize winner, soprano Kendra Dyck, received a cash prize of $2,500 and third-prize winner, soprano Camille Labonté, $1,500. Moser also won The City of Brandon Prize of $1,000 for the Best Performance of the 2026 commissioned piece, aᐊᔨᒥᐦᐄᑐᐧᐃᓐ ayimihîtuwin (The Conversation), by J. Alex Young.
Photo: Peter Ringenberg Photography
Montreal-based Trio Timia took home first prize ($4,000) in the 41st edition of Ohio’s Chamber Music in Yellow Springs competition which fosters the development of emerging chamber music ensembles. Trio Timia’s members—pianist Itamar Prag, violinist June Lee and cellist François Lamontagne—are all graduates from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. Last year, the ensemble won the Bronze Prize at the 2025 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in Indiana.
In the News
Venice’s Teatro La Fenice and conductor Beatrice Venezi, who was set to become the theatre’s first female music director, have cut ties. The theatre’s Foundation announced that future collaborations have been cancelled following recent tensions after Venezi’s statements in an interview with the Argentine newspaper La Nación. There, she stated the theatre’s management was apprehensive because she was young, female, and eager to instigate change. “I don’t come from a family of musicians,” she was quoted (in translation) as saying, “and this is an orchestra where positions are practically passed down from father to son.” She added that the orchestra’s members “never leave the island” of Venice, and tend to shy away from change and renewal. In the past, she had said that management was too influenced by unions and that season ticket holders were all “over 80.” The unions dismissed the idea of hereditary transmission of positions, describing Venezi’s statements as “false, serious, and offensive,” emphasizing that access to the orchestra is strictly through international public competitions, based on merit and professional rigour. Controversy has roiled around Venezi since she was appointed music director in September, which prompted a public letter from the theatre’s orchestra criticizing the lack of transparency in the appointment process. They claimed she did not have enough experience for the high-profile position and was picked only because of her close connections with Italy’s government, headed by Giorgia Meloni.
In Memoriam
Photo: Deborah Robinson
American conductor and composer Michael Tilson Thomas died at home on April 22, surrounded by family and friends. In 2021, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive type of brain cancer. A leader of many prestigious orchestras throughout his long career, he most recently held titles as music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, conductor laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra, co-founder and artistic director laureate of New World Symphony, and distinguished professor of music at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Tilson Thomas was a 12-time Grammy Award winner. Born in Los Angeles in 1944, he studied conducting and composition with Ingolf Dahl at University of Southern California and, as a young musician, worked with artists including Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. In his mid-20s, he became assistant conductor—and later principal guest conductor—of Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1987, Tilson Thomas co-founded New World Symphony, a postgraduate orchestral academy in Miami Beach dedicated to preparing young musicians of diverse backgrounds for leadership roles in classical music. He became music director of the San Francisco Symphony in 1995. His discography includes more than 120 recordings.
Photo: Tanja Tiziana
Cree composer and cellist Cris Derksen passed away suddenly in a car accident in northern Alberta on May 16. “She was one of the most important compositional voices wor-king in Canada today, bending and redefining genres while striving to make the world of classical music a better place,” as expressed by the Canadian League of Composers.
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