NACO's Apprentice Conductor Jean-Philippe Tremblay is a prizewinner at the 2002 Dmitris Mitropoulos International Competition for Orchestral Conducting
November 13, 2002 -
Ottawa, Canada -- Jean-Philippe Tremblay, the National Arts Centre
Orchestra's Apprentice Conductor, has received the
Orchestra's Preference Award at the 2002 Dmitris Mitropoulos
International Competition for Orchestral Conducting as well as
receiving an Honorable Mention for Excellence from the jury at this
year's competition which concluded on November 6, 2002 at the
Athens Concert Hall in Greece. The Orchestra's preference Award
winner is chosen by the musicians of the Orchestra of Colours, who
perform under the baton of the finalists. Tremblay's prizes are
worth approximately $6,000 Canadian.
Jean-Philippe Tremblay was the only Canadian of 16 finalists
chosen from over 250 applicants from around the world. The
Competition was created in 1996 to mark the centenary of the birth of
the great Greek conductor and composer Dmitris Mitropoulos. In its
sixth year, it is already regarded as one of the most prestigious
international musical competitions, alternating each year between
conducting and composing.
Born in Chicoutimi in 1978, Jean-Philippe Tremblay is one of the
most promising young orchestra conductors in Canada. In June 2001, he
was one of eight conductors chosen from Canada and abroad to
participate in the National Arts Centre's first annual
Conductors Programme led by maestros Jorma Panula and Pinchas
Zukerman. This led to his appointment to the newly created position
of Apprentice Conductor of the NAC Orchestra, funded in part by the
Canada Council for the Arts' Conductor-in-Residence Programme, and in
part through the generous support and leadership of William and
Phyllis Waters, James and Margaret Fleck, and Sandra Simpson - all of
Toronto.
Earlier this year, Tremblay became the first Canadian selected to
participate in the National Conducting Institute a project of the
National Symphony Orchestra and the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts in Washington DC. In July 2002, he became the first
winner of the $10,000 Joyce Conger Award for the Arts, which goes in
support of his second season with the NAC Orchestra.
This season Jean-Philippe Tremblay is conducting the National Arts
Centre Orchestra in a student matinee concert during the
Orchestra's Atlantic Tour (November 12-20), the Christmas Family
Fantasy (December 19), two CJOH Pops concerts (February 20-22 and
June 5-7), and additional student matinees at the National Arts
Centre.
