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The Bernard Diamant Prize, worth $5,000, offers professional Canadian classical singers under age 35 an opportunity to pursue their career through further studies. It will be awarded in addition to the regular grant to an outstanding young classical singer in the Council's annual competition (deadline 1 March 2003) for Grants to Professional Musicians (Classical Music Grants). The prize is subject to the conditions of a grant, including the submission of a final report.

The prize was created in 2001 with funds from a generous bequest to the Canada Council for the Arts by the late Bernard Diamant, as well as through memorial gifts from a number of his friends, colleagues and former voice students. The first prize will be awarded in 2002.

Eligibility

Candidates for the Bernard Diamant Prize must apply to the 1 March 2003 competition for the Grants to Professional Musicians (Classical Music Grants) program. The Canada Council defines a professional artist as someone who has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions), who is recognized as such by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition), who is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity if financially feasible and who has a history of public presentation.

Candidates must:

• be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada;

• be under 35 years of age;

• have completed their basic training in music (university graduation or equivalent in specialized training) and be ready to undertake a professional career, or have attained a professional level and be undertaking advanced studies or embarking on a professional career;

• have a history of public presentation of their work;

• be recognized as a professional musician by other artists in their field;

• have submitted any outstanding final report related to a previous Canada Council for the Arts grant.

Artists applying for the prize may still be studying. The prize may be used for advanced training and studies in voice, to work with a voice coach/master/teacher, and/or to attend voice training workshops.

All Canada Council programs are accessible to Aboriginal artists and artists of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.

To be Considered for the Prize

There is no separate process or application form for the Bernard Diamant Prize. Candidates must apply to the 1 March 2003 competition for the Grants to Professional Musicians (Classical Music Grants) program by completing an application form, which is available on request from the Music Section, and submitting it with the required support material. The Canada Council does not send or accept application forms by fax or e-mail.

Candidates should allow themselves ample time to request and complete the application form, and to organize the required support material. One peer assessment committee may be reviewing several hundred applications. Consequently, the presentation of the application and support material is of critical importance and should not be done at the last minute.

Assessment

Applications are evaluated by a peer assessment committee, composed of three to five experienced professional musicians selected for their expertise. In addition to being peers of the candidates, the members of the peer assessment committees are chosen to ensure fair representation of gender, the two official languages, Aboriginal people, and the various regions and cultures of Canada. New committees are set up for each competition.

The committee evaluates all applications on the basis of the artistic merit of the musicians' work and the merit of the proposed project for the artists' development, in a national competitive context. Under extraordinary circumstances, the Canada Council may provide the peer assessment committee with additional evaluations from independent assessors.

Competition Closing Date

Completed applications and support material must be postmarked no later than 1 March 2003. If it falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Incomplete applications may be disqualified, and late applications will not be presented to the peer assessment committee. The Canada Council does not send or receive applications by fax or e-mail.

Notification

Candidates will be notified of the results, by mail only, approximately four months after the competition closing date. Results will not be released over the telephone.

Further Information

This information is a summary of the Bernard Diamant Prize. For further details about the Grants to Professional Musicians (Classical Music Grants) program or to request an application form, contact Hélène Bellemare, Music Section Officer (classical music), toll-free at 1-800-263-5588, ext. 5071, or (613) 566-4414, ext. 5071. The fax number is (613) 566-4409.

Information is also available by contacting Janet Riedel, Endowments and Prizes Section Officer, toll-free at 1-800-263-5588, ext. 4116, or (613) 566-4414, ext. 4116. The fax number is (613) 566-4430.

Hearing-impaired callers with a TTY machine can contact the Canada Council for the Arts at
(613) 565-5194.

 

September 2002