Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
Awarded annually, the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music is a competition for Canadian composers that is designed to encourage the creation of new chamber music and to foster its performance by Canadian chamber groups. The $7,500 prize was established in 1978 by the Right Honourable Jules Léger, then Governor General of Canada.
The competition for the prize is administered by the Canadian Music Centre. The Canada Council for the Arts funds the award, selects the peer assessment committee and promotes the winner. CBC Radio Two and Radio-Canada’s Espace Musique broadcast the winning composition on their English-language and French-language stereo network.
Eligibility
Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
To qualify, the submitted works must have had a premiere performance of professional quality during the three years preceding the closing date of the competition. The composer must specify, in each case, the date and place of the first performance and the names of the performers. Revised works are eligible if the revision has a new score, the revised work has had a professional premiere within three years preceding the closing date of the competition, and if the revised work meets all other criteria.
Applicants for the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music competition can also apply to the regular Canada Council grant programs.
All Canada Council programs are accessible to Aboriginal artists and artists of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Application Process
There is no application form for this competition. Applicants must submit a letter, signed and dated, which provides the following information:
- proof of composer’s Canadian citizenship or permanent residency
- the composer’s permanent and, if necessary, current address, phone number, fax number and email address (if applicable)
- the number and title of submitted score(s) and material(s), and
- the date and place of the first performance of the submitted scores, as well as the names of the performers.
Applicants must also submit a copy of their score, from which all identification of the composer, performers, commissioner, dedications, etc., has been removed.
Composers are asked to submit one copy of each score, as well as a CD or DAT recording, if available, with one work per CD or DAT. CDs must be indexed (that is, each movement or section must have its own cue number). Composers are advised to include a separate CD of selected contrasting extracts, in addition to the full work, for all works over 20 minutes in length.
Because of the large number of submissions expected and the limited time frame available for assessment, it is to the candidates’ advantage to include this audio material. No more than two scores may be entered by each composer. Works may be written for any combination of performers, from a minimum of two to a maximum of 15 (excluding the conductor). All audio support material must be clearly labelled and cued (that is, to the tracks on the CDs).
The Canadian Music Centre will return the support material to the applicants after the competition.
Assessment of Applications
Applications are assessed by a peer assessment committee composed of experienced professionals selected for their expertise. Members are also chosen to ensure fair representation of gender, the two official languages, and the various regions and cultures of Canada. The committee may also include a prominent international expert.
Application Deadline
All applications must be postmarked no later than 3 June 2006. If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Applications and support material must be sent to:
The Canadian Music Centre
Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
20 St. Joseph Street
Toronto ON M4Y 1J9
Incomplete applications will not be submitted to the peer assessment committee. All applications that do not conform to the guidelines will be rejected.
The Canadian Music Centre will not accept applications postmarked after the deadline date, incomplete applications, or those submitted by fax or email.
Do not send your application form to the Canada Council for the Arts.
Notification of Results
All applicants will be notified of the results by the Canada Council for the Arts approximately four months after the deadline date.
Results are not released over the telephone or by email.
Further Information
For further information about the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music, please contact:
Don Tjart, Canadian Music Centre, at (416) 961-6601, ext. 307
Fax: (416) 961-7198
Email: ms@musiccentre.ca
or
Janet Riedel Pigott, Acting Director, Endowments and Prizes at the Canada Council for the Arts, at 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or (613) 566-4414, ext. 5041
Email: endowments.prizes@canadacouncil.ca
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: (613) 565-5194
Fax: (613) 566-4430
Endowment and Prizes
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
April 2006