Russell Braun receives the Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance
Ontario Arts Council announcement
Operatic baritone Russell Braun has received the Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance. This prize honours the legacy of Oskar Morawetz, one of Canada’s leading composers of contemporary music, whose career spanned more than 50 years. It is presented biennially to an outstanding Canadian performer in the field of classical music, recognizing talent and commitment to Canadian music.
Russell was selected for this award by a jury of music professionals convened by the Ontario Arts Council. The jury, which was unanimous in its decision, stated: “Russell’s powerful voice and strong stage presence have made him a highly sought-after artist by the world’s major opera companies. Along with his stellar international reputation, he also makes it a point to maintain his commitment and connection to Canadian music and composers – including Oskar Morawetz.”
The award presentation took place on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, following that evening’s performance of the Canadian Opera Company’s Hansel & Gretel, in which he is performing the role of Peter. The award was co-presented by Claudia Morawetz, daughter of Oskar Morawetz, and Judith Gelber, vice-chair of the Ontario Arts Council board of directors.
In response to receiving the award, Russell said: “It fills me with a great sense of honour to receive the Oskar Morawetz Award. I am humbled to be in the company of other esteemed Canadian artists who have received this prize. I had the great privilege to meet Oskar Morawetz, and I saw how, through his keen sense of storytelling, he was able to express Canada’s place in history in a way that was informed by his own personal experience, empathy and sense of humour. Thank you to the award jurors, the Morawetz family and to all brave composers who express their voice and entrust artists to speak eternally for them.”
National Choral Awards Deadline: March 1, 2020
(French version to follow/Version française à suivre)
Do you know anyone who has excelled in any of the following categories? Get their outstanding work recognized by nominating them for a National Choral Award!
Deadline: March 1, 2020
Click here to submit a nomination: https://www.choralcanada.org/national-choral-awards.html
Connaissez-vous quelqu’un qui fait du travail excellent dans l’une des catégories ci-dessous? Vous pouvez récompenser leurs efforts en posant leur candidature pour un des Prix nationaux de chant choral!
Date limite: le 1 mars 2020
Pour poser une candidature: https://www.choralcanada.org/prix-nationaux-de-chant-choral.html
President’s Leadership Award Recipients Announced
From Mark Vuorinen, President of the Choirs Ontario Board of Directors:
It is a great pleasure for me to recognize two individuals whose impact on choral music in Ontario has been both broad and very deep.
The President’s Leadership Award of Choirs Ontario recognizes individuals who, through their support or engagement in choral music-making, have made an exceptional contribution to the promotion and advancement of choral music in their communities.
The recipients of this year’s award have been supporting choral music in this province, across the country, and around the world for decades. They have demonstrated their commitment to and passion for choral music as volunteers, board members, philanthropists, Honorary Patrons and audience members as they have assisted choirs and choral organizations and encouraged conductors to fulfill a vision for choral excellence and creative transcendence.
The recipients of the 2019 President’s Leadership Award are Frieda and Vern Heinrichs.
They are Honorary Patrons of both the Elmer Iseler Singers and the Amadeus Choir, among many other groups.
As the jury for this award met, we encountered overwhelming support from the choral community for the Heinrichs’ nomination through many letters of nomination. To understand the breadth and depth of the Heinrichs’ rich contribution to the choral landscape of this province is to sample from the many extraordinary letters of nomination and support. I quote:
Vern and Elfrieda Heinrichs truly love the choral art form. They are there for advice, wisdom, and support of all kinds. They put all this into action every day of their lives. In their quiet way, they lift us up and lead us to a higher place, inspiring those whose lives they have touched to seek excellence in all that they do.
When our valued art form is continually experiencing the uphill struggle of funding, the Heinrichs’ engagement has brought an essential legitimacy to the support of choral music, influencing many others to do likewise. Their rich Mennonite heritage has been an immense influence in their philanthropy, which they demonstrate with modesty, humility and great passion and enthusiasm.
Vern and Frieda were instrumental through the Heinrichs Foundation in endowing the Elmer Iseler Chair in Choral Conducting and the Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowships in Choral Conducting at the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. Their commitment to the importance of educating and exposing both current and future generations to excellence in choral music is evident in these and other endeavours.
Vern and Elfrieda are passionate about choral music, and they understand what a profound impact it can have on singers and audiences. They show their love and support for the choral community by their steady attendance at concerts, festivals and choral events of all levels in Toronto, Guelph, and throughout Canada and the US.
This very kind, compassionate couple has made an avocation of supporting choral music, and we in Canada have benefitted from their expertise and generosity. I can think of no better recipients for Choirs Ontario’s President’s Leadership Award.
Their kindnesses to musicians, their warm hospitality, their presence at so many events in the community, and their additional efforts behind-the-scenes to support the choral art are more than worthy of recognition from Choirs Ontario. In fact, I would say we are overdue in granting them this honour.
Please join me in recognizing and thanking Elfrieda and Vern Heinrichs for their transformational contribution to the choral music.
