June 04, 2003 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The National Arts Centre (NAC) has announced the winners of the 2003 NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition following the finals held on Monday, June 2, in the NAC Studio. Eight finalists had been chosen from the 20 contestants heard in preliminary auditions held on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1. The grand prize-winner of the 2003 NACO Bursary ($6,000) is violinist Robert Uchida (23). The winner of the Harold Crabtree Foundation Award of $5,000 is cellist Christian Elliott (18). The NAC Orchestra Association Award ($3,000) went to flutist Karyne Bélanger (16), while cellist Thaddeus Morden (18) won the Vic Pomer Award ($1,500), and the Piccolo Prix ($500) went to oboist Melissa Scott (23).

Honourable mentions of $150 went to oboist Megan Giffin (19), bassoonist Dantes Rameau (20), and violinist Liana Bérubé (20).

Violinist Robert Uchida (23) is completing his studies at the University of Ottawa where he won the Aruna and Rupa Anantaraman Scholarships for excellence in violin playing as well as the U of O Concerto Competition. He is co-concertmaster of the University of Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. He was a participant in the NAC Young Artists Programme in 2001 and 2002. He will use his prize to pursue a Masters Degree at Yale University (where he has been accepted), the Juilliard School or the Manhattan School of Music.

Cellist Christian Elliott (18) is a student of former NACO principal cellist Donald Whitton and now studies with Thomas Wiebe at the University of Western Ontario. He was a participant in the NAC Young Artists Programme in 2001. A graduate of the string program at Canterbury High School, he toured Canada and Japan with the National Youth Orchestra in 2002. He hopes to pursue post-secondary music studies at the Orford Arts Centre, Indiana University, New England Conservatory or McGill University.

Flutist Karyne Bélanger (16) is currently enrolled in the Canterbury High School Music Quartet and is first flute in the Ottawa Youth Orchestra. She plans to attend McGill University after graduation. She has studied at the Domaine Forget where she plans to return this summer. Recent awards include 1st Place in the OMFA Provincial Finals in 2002, and four Gold Medals and one Silver at the 2002 Kiwanis Competitions.

Cellist Thaddeus Morden (18) is a student of NACO musicians Amanda Forsyth and Margaret Munro Tobolowska. He was the winner of the New Sun Award in 2001 and was a participant in the NAC Young Artists Programme in 2001 and 2002. He has been principal cello in several local youth orchestras and has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra for the past four years. He will use his prize to further his orchestral studies at the Domaine Forget this summer, and at McGill University.

Oboist Melissa Scott (23), a former student of NACO principal oboe Charles Hamann, is currently studying for her Artist Diploma for orchestral training at the Glenn Gould School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. She performed with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2001 and will return this summer. She will use her award to continue her studies at the Glenn Gould School followed by a Masters of Music degree in the USA.

The Bursary Committee was chaired by Vernon G. Turner, Canada's former Ambassador to the USSR and an active volunteer at the National Arts Centre. The Bursary Committee consisted of NAC Orchestra musicians Walter Prystawski (concertmaster), Winston Webber (upper strings), Marjolaine Laroche (lower strings), Kimball Sykes (winds), and Karen Donnelly (brass and percussion), with Claire Speed, Geneviève Cimon and Tamara Kater as the NAC Music representatives, and Alexander (Sandy) Waddell as the non-voting NACOA representative. The Bursary Jury consists of Turner (non-voting member), Prystawski, Webber, Laroche, and Waddell (non-voting member), with Julie Fauteux (brass and percussion) replacing Karen Donnelly, and Emily Smethurst (winds) replacing Kimball Sykes, plus invited guests Rosemarie Landry, Head of Voice and Opera at the Faculty of Music, Université de Montréal; and Gary Hayes, program host and producer for CBC Radio Ottawa.

The National Arts Centre Orchestra (NACO) Bursary Competition was first held in 1981. The NACO Bursary was created by the musicians of the NAC Orchestra as a gesture of appreciation to the audiences who had been so supportive to the orchestra during its first decade. It is meant to provide recognition and financial support to help further the development of young Canadian orchestral musicians who have connections to the National Capital Region (NCR). In subsequent years thanks to the generosity of additional organizations and individuals, other prizes have been added for a total in 2003 of $16,000. These prizes, in addition to the NACO Bursary, are the Harold Crabtree Foundation Award, created this year by this Foundation which strongly believes in the importance of helping young people; the NAC Orchestra Association Award created in 1993 to celebrate the Orchestra's 25th anniversary season; the Vic Pomer Award commemorating one of the founding violinists of NACO and a dedicated teacher who died in 2001 at age 70; and the Piccolo Prix provided “to encourage and support our young artists” by NAC volunteer and Donors Circle member Cav. Pasqualina Pat Adamo.

All prizes are intended for music students aged 16 to 24 whose family residence is in the National Capital Region, or who have been following a recognized course of music study in the NCR in preparation for careers as professional orchestral musicians. Each year, a jury identifies deserving recipients through audition and selection.

- 30 -

Information:
Jane Morris, Communications Officer,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(613) 947-7000, 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca