In announcing the call for submissions for the 2020 Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP), the Azrieli Foundation is now offering the largest composition prizes in Canada.

Composers from across Canada and around the world are invited to compete for one of three prizes, which each offer a cash award of $50,000 CAD, a live performance by Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne at the AMP Gala Concert in Montreal, and a commercial recording on the multi-award-winning Analekta label. The winning works will also be performed at an international concert arranged by the Foundation. Each prize package is valued at over $200,000 CAD per composer, placing the Azrieli Music Prizes among the most significant composition competitions in the world.

Established in 2014, the Azrieli Music Prizes offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in music composition. The first two prizes were awarded in 2016 to recognize excellence in new Jewish music. New this year, AMP is adding a third prize recognizing Canadian music composition.

The three categories are:

The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music. Open to the international community, this prize is awarded to a composer who has written the best new major work of Jewish music. Eligible entries may have been premiered within ten years of the award date, but must not have a significant performance history and must not have been commercially recorded.

The Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music is awarded to encourage composers from around the world to creatively and critically engage with the question, “What is Jewish Music” A commissioning fee is given to the composer who proposes a response to this question that displays the utmost creativity, artistry and musical excellence.

The Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music. This award is offered to a Canadian composer to create a new musical work that creatively and critically engages with the challenges of composing concert music in Canada today.

Previous AMP composer laureates are Brian Current, Wlad Marhulets, Kelly-Marie Murphy and Avner Dorman.

Dr. Sharon Azrieli, who conceived of the prizes and is a Director of the Azrieli Foundation, is extremely proud of how this program is unfolding.  “With our Jewish prizes, we celebrate excellence in new music on the world stage. Last year, we had entrants from across the globe. We created the Canadian prize because we realized that there were still too few opportunities that encourage Canadian composers to create major concert works. We want to legitimatize innovative responses to the questions, ‘What is Jewish music?’ and ‘What is Canadian music?’ Given our past success, I expect the submissions for 2020 will be incredibly impressive.”

The 2020 AMP call for submissions is now open. Scores and proposals for chamber music works are accepted, without entry fee, from composers of all faiths, backgrounds, affiliations and experience levels. For submission details, including guidelines and deadlines, visit www.azrielifoundation.org/music.

ABOUT THE AZRIELI FOUNDATION
For 30 years, the Azrieli Foundation has funded institutions as well as operated programs on the ground. The Foundation supports music and the arts, scientific and medical research, higher education, youth empowerment and school perseverance, architecture, Holocaust education and quality of life initiatives for people with developmental disabilities.

For more information, please contact abby@azrielifoundation.org