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I Musici Appoints New Director

Jean-Marie Zeitouni is to succeed Yuli Turovsky as Conductor and Artistic Director of the I Musici ensemble. Turovsky, who founded the orchestra, has been Artistic Director for 27 years. Zeitouni guest-conducted I Musici in March. He has signed a three-year contract with I Musici to begin on June 1. Stéphanie Rose has been appointed the new Executive Director.

Guy Fouquet Head of Montreal conservatory of Music

Guy Fouquet, professor and academic adviser, has been appointed the Interim Head of the Conservatory of Music in Montreal. His appointment follows the retirement of Raffi Armenian from the post. Armenian left in order to devote himself to teaching and conducting.

Eleanor Kendra James Wins The Shean Strings Competition

A 23-year-old violist from Vancouver has won the $8,000 top prize at The Shean Strings Competition. Eleanor Kendra James will also get the chance to play at a concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

Lang Lang, James MacMillan, and Esa-Pekka Salonen Receive Honorary Doctorates

On May 12, on the occasion of HRH the Prince of Wales’s annual visit to the Royal College of Music, London, he will confer honorary degrees to pianist Lang Lang, composer James MacMillan, and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. At age 28, Lang Lang is the youngest and first Chinese recipient of a Royal College Honorary Doctorate.

Claude Beausoleil Named Montreal’s Official Poet

Claude Beausoleil has been named Montreal’s poet laureate by the Conseil des arts de Montréal, as part of the Montreal Poetry Festival. This naming makes Montreal the first francophone city to recognize a poet laureate. Beausoleil will become the poet-in-residence at the Édifice Gaston-Miron, the CAM headquarters, and will also receive a $25,000 bursary and benefit from a two-year “cultural mediation” project.

Beausoleil has published 58 books over four decades. He teaches at Montreal’s Collège Édouard-Montpetit and was Le Devoir’s poetry critic from 1978 to 1985.

12-Year-Old Canadian Wins Rotary Piano Competition

On May 13, 12-year-old Scarborough resident Anastasia Rizikov beat out 25 competitors—some over twice her age—to win first prize at the Rotary International Piano Competition in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. She competed in Category A, which was open to those aged 28 and under. Competitors were required to play a total of one and a half hours of diverse repertoire over the three rounds, from memory, with no repetition. She wins approximately $3,600 Canadian and is invited to return to Spain for a solo recital tour and performance with the Baleares Symphony Orchestra.

LSM reçoit deux Prix d’Europe

La Scena Musicale a obtenu deux Prix d’Europe en journalisme musical dans le cadre de la 100e édition du Prix. Le Prix d'Europe est organisé par l’Académie de musique du Québec. Lisez notre article sur le Prix d’Europe dans ce numéro. Les deux prix sont :

» le prix spécial du Centenaire à La Scena Musicale pour l’excellence de notre travail et pour notre rôle de grand catalyseur de l’univers musical québécois à notre 15e anniversaire.

» le prix Léo-Pol Morin, accordé à un journaliste pour une entrevue ou un portrait d’un musicien exceptionnel sur la scène nationale ou internationale. Ce prix a été décerné à Lucie Renaud pour son portrait de Gidon Kremer paru dans le numéro de novembre 2010.