And the winner is...
Charles Richard-Hamelin, a 21-year old Montrealer, won First Prize at the 2011 TSO National Piano Competition and the unique opportunity to perform a concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Roy Thomson Hall. He will play Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto in the TSO's 2012/13 season.
Watch Charles as he performs and is interviewed live in studio at Classical 96.3 FM the day after his win.
Second Prize was awarded to 18-year old Scott MacIsaac from Calgary, who also won the award for Best Performance of a Romantic Work. Charles and Scott are studying on scholarship at Yale University. As part of his Second Prize, Scott will perform a solo recital in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at noon.
Third Prize went to another Montrealer, 24-year old Steven Massicotte.
Alexander Malikov, 22, from Calgary, won the SOCAN Foundation Award for Best Performance of a Canadian Work. Devon Joiner, 21, from Nanaimo, BC won the Victor Feldbrill Award for Best Performance of a Canadian Work.
The 2011 Competition was held at The Royal Conservatory May 27, 28 and 29. Members of the esteemed jury were: Marietta Orlov, Toronto; Isobel Rolston, Banff (Chair); Heather Slater, Calgary; Andrew Tunis, Ottawa. The Competition's musical advisor is William Aide. View photos from the Competition.
The performers who competed in the 2011 event were: Vincent Béland-Bernard, Claudia Chan, Chairat Chongvattankij, Samuel Deason, Carol Ip, Devon Joiner, Hyoseon Sunny Kim, Connie Kim-Sheng, Christopher Kusuhara, Jocelyn Lai, Simon Larivière, Jason Lee, Scott MacIsaac, Alexander Malikov, Steven Massicotte, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Coral Solomon, Lisa Tahara, Gaspard Tanguay-Labrosse, Sarah Whynot, Nina Zhou.
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2011 Prizes
First Prize:
$8,000 awarded by Roy Thomson Hall
Concerto performance with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Roy Thomson Hall
On-air interview and performance at Classical 96.3 FM
Second Prize:
$5,000 awarded by Toronto Symphony Volunteer Committee
Recital in the Free Concert Series in the Richard Bradshaw
Amphitheatre at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Third Prize:
$2,000 awarded by Bereskin & Parr LLP
Best Performance of a Romantic Work:
$1,000 awarded by Phil Sabatino in Honour of Pasquale Sabatino
SOCAN Foundation Award for the Best Performance of a Canadian Work:
$1,000 awarded by the SOCAN Foundation
Victor Feldbrill Award for Best Performance of a Canadian Work:
$500 awarded by Toronto Symphony Volunteer Committee in Honour of Victor Feldbrill
A prestigious biennial event, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra National Piano Competition attracts Canada's finest pianists between the ages of 16 and 25. The competition was created 29 years ago by the Toronto Symphony Volunteer Committee to encourage and foster the talent of young Canadian pianists. The 2011-2012 TSO season lineup includes three guest artists who are past winners of the competition: Stewart Goodyear, Todd Yaniw, and Alexander Seredenko.
Read the 2011 rules and regulations.
Read about the winners of the 2009 competition.
