Press Release
For Immediate Release
ANNOUNCEMENT: 2016 CHOQUETTE-SYMCOX AWARD WINNER
Montreal, February 9, 2016 – The Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation (JMCF) is proud to announce the 2016 winner of the Choquette-Symcox Award: talented concert pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin.
The Choquette-Symcox Award is an initiative of the late Fernand Choquette and of Peter J.F. Symcox in honour of their shared love for music. This award was created in 2010 to support the career development of emerging artists from Quebec. The award, which includes a $5,000 bursary, was handed over to Charles Richard-Hamelin by Joseph Rouleau, Honorary Chair of Jeunesses Musicales Canada, at a special ceremony held at JMC House on February 9, 2016 and attended by Richard Lupien, JMC Foundation President, and special guests.
At the award ceremony, Lupien expressed “the pride the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation takes from being associated with an artist who has demonstrated such excellence over the past year. The Foundation is pleased to note that the financial support we provided to send Charles to the preliminary rounds of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in spring 2015 gave him the opportunity to showcase his indisputable talent on the world stage.” For Richard-Hamelin, the award is “wonderful news”. He said he was deeply touched by the Foundation’s generosity, and truly honoured to receive this award.
As previously announced, Charles Richard-Hamelin will soon be embarking on an Emerging Artists Concerts tour with Jeunesses Musicales Canada. Presented by Desjardins, the tour will bring him to Ontario and Northeastern Quebec. The concert, Chopin’s Last Works, features some of Chopin’s greatest compositions including the magnificent Sonata No. 3 in B-flat Minor, as well as works by Beethoven and Enescu. The tour’s inaugural recital will take place this Wednesday, February 10 at 6 p.m. at JMC’s Joseph-Rouleau Hall as part of the Concert Apéro series.
About Charles-Richard Hamelin
Silver medalist and winner of the Krystian Zimerman Prize for best performance of a sonata at the 2015 International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Charles Richard-Hamelin is recognized as one of today’s most talented emerging pianists. His awards include second prize at the Montreal International Musical Competition, both the first prize and the Special Prize for best performance of a Beethoven sonata at the Seoul International Music Competition in South Korea, and the Europe Prize in 2011. Named Radio-Canada’s 2015/2016 Revelation, he was recently awarded the prestigious Career Development Award by the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto
About the late Fernand Choquette and Peter Symcox
A native of Montreal, Fernand Choquette developed a passion for poetry and drama and an enthusiasm for classical music early on in life. He joined Radio-Canada in 1955 and rapidly established himself among the most accomplished producer-director of documentaries.
Director, producer, set designer, and critic, Peter Symcox has been an adjudicator for various drama festivals, and has contributed articles to newspapers and periodicals, including The Montreal Star and Opera Canada. Shortly after his arrival in Montreal in 1953, he was hired as a set designer for CBC TV and later became a producer of music programs. He currently lives in Victoria, BC.
About the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation
For over 30 years, the Jeunesses Musicales Canada Foundation (JMCF) has contributed to the development of classical music and of new artistic talent. The Foundation’s members and team come together to support Jeunesses Musicales of Canada (JMC), a non-profit organization dedicated to the presentation of classical music – with a special focus on youth – and to the career development of young artists both nationally and internationally.
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