Thierry Tidrow wins grand prize in the inaugural Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers
The Schulich School of Music of McGill University聽is proud to announce that聽Thierry Tidrow聽is the grand prize winner of the inaugural edition of the聽Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers. The $15,000 first prize for Tidrow鈥檚 new work for piano quintet, 鈥淨uicksilver,鈥� was among $45,000 in total prize earnings awarded at the Concert and Prize Gala on Saturday, September 29, at Pollack Hall. This new national competition for Canadian composers under the age of 35 was founded by聽Dr. Graham Sommer聽(1946-2016), MDCM鈥�72, a graduate of McGill University鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine and an accomplished pianist and devoted music lover.
Five finalists, chosen from 84 applicants from across Canada and Canadians living and studying abroad, were each commissioned to write a new work for piano quintet, which were premiered by pianist聽Sara Laimon聽and the聽Molinari Quartet.
, a Franco-Ontarian composer from Ottawa, currently living in Berlin, was thrilled to win the first prize on what was his 32苍诲听birthday. 鈥淎s a freelance composer, this prize allows me to be committed to write more music,鈥� he comments, 鈥淚t was a big challenge to find how I could express myself in a work for piano quintet, a formation with so much history. With聽Quicksilver, I tried to use strings in a different way, almost slipping out of the players鈥� fingers.鈥� The winning piece, as well as all of the performances from Saturday evening, may be viewed on聽.
Tidrow, who graduated from McGill University with a B.Mus. in 2009, expressed his gratitude to his teachers Christoph Neidh枚fer and Brian Cherney, as well as Schulich School of Music faculty Jean Lesage, Peter Schubert, and others. His studies in Montreal were followed by a master鈥檚 degree in composition from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and an Advanced Studies diploma at the Hochschule f眉r Musik Freiburg. A winner of the Canada Council for the Arts鈥� Jules-L茅ger Prize, Tidrow has collaborated with many performers across Europe and North America, and was selected for the ECM+ Generation 2018 tour.
A second place prize of $10,000 was awarded to聽Ashkan Behzadi, with the $5,000 third, fourth, and fifth prizes going to聽Christopher Goddard,聽Taylor Brook, a苍诲听Alison Yun-Fei Jiang, respectively. Jiang鈥檚聽In Absent Waters聽was also awarded the $5,000 Audience Choice Award, voted upon by the audience in attendance at the concert as well as online.
Dr. Brenda Ravenscroft, Dean of the Schulich School of Music and chair of the competition jury, expressed her congratulations to Thierry Tidrow, adding: 鈥淭o all the finalists, I hope that this experience will encourage you to pursue your artistic and creative endeavours without reserve. We are very fortunate here at the Schulich School of Music to be able to host competitions of such quality and distinction. I鈥檓 absolutely thrilled that these awards extend to composers across the country, thanks to the generosity and vision of the late Dr. Graham Sommer.鈥� Dr. Ravenscroft was joined on the competition jury by composers聽Ana Sokolovi膰聽a苍诲听Alexina Louie; clarinetist and composer聽Kinan Azmeh;听David Pay, Founder and Artistic Director of Vancouver鈥檚 Music on Main; violinist/violist聽Barry Shiffman, Associate Dean at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and Executive Director of the Banff International String Quartet Competition; a苍诲听Robert Everett-Green, feature writer and Montreal cultural correspondent for The Globe and Mail.
Part of the 22ndedition of Quebec鈥檚聽Journ茅es de la culture, the Concert and Prize Gala was presented free to the public and was preceded by a series of lectures and discussions with the composer finalists.
Dr. Graham Sommer聽died on October 2, 2016 and left a legacy of excellence in medicine and an abiding love for the transformative power of music. A native of British Columbia, Sommer graduated from McGill鈥檚 Faculty of Medicine in 1972 and went on to hold positions at Yale and Stanford Universities, becoming a world-class researcher for 37 years. Dr. Sommer鈥檚 enduring passion for music has resonated at McGill notably through the Dr. Graham Sommer Piano Fund, which supported the restoration of pianos in McGill residences and the purchase of a new piano for Douglas Hall. While Sommer excelled in his chosen field of medicine, he was also inspired by a lifelong love of music fostered by his own accomplishments as a classical pianist and composer.
high-res photos of the finalists and artists
