May 28, 2007 -

Ottawa, Canada -- The National Arts Centre (NAC) has announced the winners of the 2007 NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition following the finals held on Friday, May 25 in the NAC Studio. Eight finalists had been chosen from the 24 contestants heard in preliminary auditions held on May 18 and 19. The grand prize-winner of the 2007 NACO Bursary ($7,000) is cellist Thaddeus Morden (age 22). The winner of the Harold Crabtree Foundation Award of $5,000 is flutist Amelia Lyon (age 21) who also won the NACO Special Prize for the best performance of prescribed orchestral excerpts. The Friends of the NAC Orchestra Award ($3,000) went to bassoonist Kristin Day (age 23), while violist Shasta Ellenbogen (age 18) won the NAC Vic Pomer Award ($2,000) and the Piccolo Prix ($1,000) went to violinist Won Hee Lee (age 18).

Honourable mentions of $150 went to clarinetist Patrick Graham (age 22), trombonist Chris Graham (age 20) and violinist Justin Lamy (age 17).

The Bursary Committee was chaired by Vernon G. Turner, Canada’s former Ambassador to the USSR and to Israel, and an active volunteer at the National Arts Centre.

Mr. Turner said: “Once again I was impressed by the quality of the competition. I shall follow the careers of all the finalists with great interest.”

The Bursary Committee consisted of NAC Orchestra musicians Winston Webber (upper strings), Murielle Bruneau (lower strings), Kimball Sykes (winds), and Félix Acevedo (brass and percussion), with Kelly Abercrombie as the NAC Music representative, and Ross Francis as the non-voting Friends of NACO representative. The Bursary Jury consisted of Turner (non-voting member), Webber, Bruneau, and Acevedo with Emily Smethurst (winds) replacing Kimball Sykes, plus special guests John Gomez (Music Director of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra Academy), Gary Hayes (former programme host and producer for CBC Radio Ottawa), and Stéphane Lemelin, (pianist/professor at the University of 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 2007 of $18,500. These prizes, in addition to the NACO Bursary, are the Harold Crabtree Foundation Award, created in 2003 by this Foundation which strongly believes in the importance of helping young people; the Friends of the NAC Orchestra (formerly NACOA) Award created in 1993 to celebrate the Orchestra’s 25th anniversary season; the NAC Vic Pomer Award commemorating one of the founding violinists of NACO and a dedicated teacher who died in 2001 at age 70; the Piccolo Prix provided “to encourage and support our young artists” by NAC volunteer and Donors Circle member Cav. Pasqualina Pat Adamo, and the NACO Special Prize of $500 for the best performance of prescribed orchestral excerpts.

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

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