First and third prizes to Rashaan Allwood and Joel Peters in OSM Manulife Competition
The 2016 edition of the OSM Manulife Competition took place last week. 听This year's categories听were strings and organ, for which the semi-final string rounds took place in Tanna Schulich Hall at the Schulich School of Music. 听The semifinals for organ took place in the 脡glise Saint-Jean-Baptiste and the finals in the Maison symphonique听de听Montr茅al听at the Grand-Orgue-Pierre-B茅ique. There were a total of 21 semi-finalists in the two categories, of which current students Rashaan Allwood and Joel Peters,听along with alumni Stephen Boda, ArtDip'15;听and MMus'14;听Donald Hunt, BMus'07 and MMus'09;听Byungchan Lee,听BMus鈥�15 and听ArtDip鈥�16 took part.
Rashaan Allwood, a student of Professor听Hans-Ola Ericsson,听was awarded first prize in the organ category. 听His prize included a cash award of $10,000;听the听Jacqueline Desmarais Prize: A professional video recording on the Grand Orgue Pierre-B茅ique;听the听听Canadian International Organ Competition Prize: A recital in the series The Organ Takes Its Place, presented at some point in 2017; the听Saint Joseph鈥檚 Oratory of Mount Royal prize: A recital in 2017; the听听Cath茅drale Saint-Pierre in Geneva Prize: A recital in the series Les Concerts de la Cath茅dral; The Royal Canadian College of Organists 鈥� (Calgary) Prize: A concert during the 2017 season and the听Schulich School of Music Prize: a scholarship听covering complete tuition for a program of performance at 不良研究所鈥檚 Schulich School of Music.
Joel Peters, also from the class of Hans-Ola Ericsson, received third prize in the organ category. 听His prize included a cash award of $2500. 听He also听received the prize for the best performance of the Canadian work: $2,500 grant offered by Ms. Juliana Pleines; the听Stingray Rising Stars Award: Public鈥檚 Choice听$2,500 grant offered to the contestant who received the most votes live on the Web and at Maison symphonique during the finals on November 26, 2016; 听and the听Orford Music Prize: A scholarship听covering tuition and accommodations for a two week music session at Orford Music in 2017.
鈥淚 am indeed very proud of both my听organ students. Rashaan and Joel both show听that hard work and talent, coupled with great determination can lead to success," said Prof. Ericsson. 听"The organ听program at Schulich provides talented organists and church musicians听with an opportunity to hone their artistry and skills."听听
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