The Prix d'Europe is a Canadian study grant that is funded by the
Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec
The Ministry of Culture and Communications (french: Ministère de la Culture et des Communications ) is responsible for promoting and protecting the culture in the Canadian province of Quebec. The current Minister is Nathalie Roy.Government of Quebec
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. Established in 1911, the award has been distributed annually to a single individual through competition with the exception of 1960-1973 and 2009 when there was a potential for 2 prizes each year and 1971 when no prize was given. Winners of the grant are given a cash prize towards furthering their musical education abroad in Europe. Past winners of the prize include a large number of notable Canadian musicians.
History
J.-Arthur Paquet, a Quebecois businessman and organist who was treasurer of the
Académie de musique du Québec The Quebec Music Academy (''L'académie de musique du Québec'') is a nonprofit association based in Montreal, Canada, founded in 1868. It was built by order of Queen Victoria in 1870 and brought together the most renowned musicians of Quebec.
The ...
, was responsible for spearheading the grant's creation in 1911. Paquet gained the support of the academy's board and its secretary,
Joseph-Arthur Bernier
Joseph-Arthur Bernier (19 March 1877 – 28 April 1944) was a Canadian organist, pianist, composer, and music educator. Born in Lévis, Quebec, he was the senior member of a prominent family of musicians from Quebec City. He is the father of pian ...
, and a plan by the school for the project was brought to Quebec premier Sir Lomer Gouin for his personal approval. Gouin supported the project and through his influence the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
passed a law promoting the development of musical art on 24 March 1911 which included funding the Prix d'Europe.
The Prix d'Europe initially awarded a cash prize of $3000 in 1911, at that time a very large sum of money. The sum was raised in 1959 ($5000), 1973 ($8000), and (1988). For more than the first 40 years of their history individual participants competed in their respective categories for a single prize. In 1960 two prizes were established: a prize for a keyboardist or vocalist, and a prize for an orchestral instrumentalist or composer. Some years only one prize was given when the judges deemed there was not a suitable winner in a particular category. In 1974 the competition returned to its original state of offering just a single prize. In 2009 two prizes were given.
On two occasions the Prix d'Europe awarded special grants to individuals: in 1924 to violinist Norman Herschorn and in 1926 to pianist Alice Ste-Marie. The 1938 winner of the competition, Marcel Hébert, drowned before he could avail himself of the grant awarded to him. Accordingly, his grant was distributed to two other participants in that year's competition:
Noël Brunet
Noel or Noël may refer to:
Christmas
* , French for Christmas
* Noel is another name for a Christmas carol
Places
*Noel, Missouri, United States, a city
*Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community
*1563 Noël, an asteroid
*Mount Noel, British ...
and
Georges Savaria
Georges Savaria (27 March 1916 – 1998) was a Canadian pianist, composer, ondist, college administrator, and music educator. His compositional output consists of a 1951 piano concerto, several songs and works for solo piano, and music for theatr ...
. No prize was given in 1971 as the judges felt that no applicant had demonstrated a sufficient level of skill to have earned the prize.
Léo-Pol Morin
Léo-Pol Morin (13 July 1892 – 29 May 1941) was a Canadian pianist, music critic, composer, and music educator. He composed under the name James Callihou, with his most well known works being ''Suite canadienne'' (1945) and ''Three Eskimos'' f ...
, piano
1913
Omer Létourneau
Joseph Hercule Omer Létourneau (13 March 1891National Library of Canada. Nouvelles de la Bibliothèque Nationale'. Vol. 15-16. National Library of Canada; 1983. – 14 August 1983) was a Quebec, Québécois pianist, organist, composer and orches ...
Wilfrid Pelletier
Joseph Louis Wilfrid Pelletier (sometimes spelled Wilfred), (20 June 1896 – 9 April 1982) was a Canadian conductor, pianist, composer, and arts administrator. He was instrumental in establishing the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, serving a ...
Germaine Malépart
Germaine Malépart (July 7, 1898 – April 19, 1963) was a Canadian pianist and music educator.
She was born in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (now Laval, Quebec) and began taking piano lessons with at the age of 7. When she was 13, she performed for ...
, piano
1918 Jean Kaster, cello
1919 Lucille Dompierre, piano
1920 Ruth Pryce, violin
1921
Auguste Descarries Auguste may refer to:
People Surname
* Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer
* Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman
* Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter
* Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold and ...
, piano
1922 Anna-Marie Messénie, piano
1923 Conrad Bernier, organ
1924
Gabriel Cusson
Gabriel Cusson (2 April 1903, Roxton Pond, Quebec - 18 Apr 1972, Montreal) was a Canadian composer and music educator. As a composer, his music was heavily influenced by the style of early 20th-century French composers. Most of his work remains u ...
, cello
1925
Paul Doyon
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
, piano
1926
Lionel Daunais
Noël Ferdinand Lionel Daunais, (December 31, 1901 – July 18, 1982) was a French Canadian baritone and composer.
Life
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Daunais studied singing with Céline Marier and harmony and composition with Oscar O'Brien. I ...
Jean-Marie Beaudet
Jean-Marie Beaudet (20 February 1908 – 19 March 1971) was a Canadian conductor, organist, pianist, radio producer, and music educator. He had a long career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, serving variously as a music producer, progr ...
Bernard Piché
Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...
, organ
1933
Edwin Bélanger
Edwin Bélanger (18 November 1910 – 14 January 2005) was a Canadian conductor, violinist, violist, arranger, and music educator. He had an association with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec for more than 50 years, including serving as t ...
, violin
1934
Georges Lindsay Georges may refer to:
Places
* Georges River, New South Wales, Australia
* Georges Quay (Dublin)
*Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Other uses
*Georges (name)
* ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas
* "Georges" (song), a 19 ...
, organ
1935 Georgette Tremblay, organ
1936
Noël Brunet
Noel or Noël may refer to:
Christmas
* , French for Christmas
* Noel is another name for a Christmas carol
Places
*Noel, Missouri, United States, a city
*Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community
*1563 Noël, an asteroid
*Mount Noel, British ...
, violin
1937
Georges Savaria
Georges Savaria (27 March 1916 – 1998) was a Canadian pianist, composer, ondist, college administrator, and music educator. His compositional output consists of a 1951 piano concerto, several songs and works for solo piano, and music for theatr ...
, piano
1938 Marcel Hébert, piano
1939 Paule-Aimée Bailly, piano
1940
Suzette Forgues
Suzette Forgues Halasz (14 April 1918 – 8 December 2004) was a Canadian cellist and music educator. She held the post of principal cellist of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra from 1942 to 1946 and worked in the same capacity at the New York City ...
Jeanne Landry
Jeanne Landry (May 3, 1922 – August 2, 2011) was a Canadian composer, pianist and teacher who taught counterpoint and harmony at the Faculty of Music at Université Laval from 1951 to 1983. She began as a solo pianist in 1940 and was named the 1 ...
Josephte Dufresne
Josephte Dufresne (1929–1995) was a Canadian pianist, teacher and conservatoire director.
Life and work
Josephte Dufresne was born January 9, 1929, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada.
She studied piano in her birthplace and in Montreal with ...
Léon Bernier
Léon Bernier (6 September 1936, Hull, Quebec (now Gatineau, Quebec) - 11 October 2011, Longueuil) was a Canadian composer, conductor, pianist, arranger, accompanist, and music pedagogue. He composed and arranged music for numerous programs on Can ...
, piano
1956 Monique Munger, piano
1957
Jean Leduc
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* J ...
Jacques Hétu
Jacques Hétu (August 8, 1938 – February 9, 2010) was a Canadian composer and music educator.
Biography
Jacques Hétu was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec; he began his professional training at the University of Ottawa where he was a pupil ...
, composition; Pierre Ménard, violin
1962
Colette Boky
Colette Boky (born Marie-Rose Élisabeth Giroux; June 4, 1935),
is a French-Canadian operatic soprano, particularly associated with lyric roles in the French, Italian, and German repertories.
Life and career
Born Marie-Rose Élisabeth Giroux, ...
Alain Gagnon
Alain Gagnon (22 May 1938 − 26 March 2017) was a Canadian composer and music educator based in Laval, Quebec. His compositions have been performed by ensembles throughout Canada.
Early life and education
Gagnon was born in Trois-Pistoles, Queb ...
, composition
1966
Monique Gendron
Monique Gendron is a Canadian organist of international renown. She won first prize at the St Albans International Organ Festival in England and at the Grand Prix of Chartes in France. She has recorded sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach and George F ...
Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux
Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux (9 August 1938 – 2 February 1985) was a Canadian composer and music educator who played an important role in the contemporary classical music scene of Canada and France from the late 1960s through the mid-19 ...
, composition;
Jacques Larocque
Jacques Larocque is a Canadian saxophonist, arranger, music educator, and university administrator. He has authored and published numerous transcriptions and arrangements for saxophone quartet; some of which have been recorded by ensembles like the ...
, saxophone
1968 Roland Richard, voice; Lucie Madden, organ
1969 Louise LeComte, recorder
1970 John Whitelaw, harpsichord
1971 not awarded
1972 Marie Laferrière, voice; Karen Quinton, piano
1973
Raynald Arseneault
Raynald Arseneault (9 June 1945 – 27 January 1995) was a Canadian composer and organist. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, his compositional output consists of more than 50 works. His style was particularly influenced by Ivan Wysc ...
Denis Bédard
Denis Bédard (born 1950)L'Orgue'. Vol. Issues 281-284. Librairie Floury; 2008. p. 54. is a Canadians, Canadian composer of pipe organ, organ works (solo, duet, and with other instruments)Organists' Review'. Vol. 91, Issues 257-360. Incorporated ...
Sophie Rolland
Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise".
People with the name Born in the Middle Ages
* Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson
* Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of ...
Philippe Magnan Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to:
* Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present)
* Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer
* Prince Philippe, Count o ...
Frédéric Bednarz
Frédéric Bednarz is a Canadian violinist. He received the Prix d'Europe in 1996. Bednarz was also a top prize laureate at international competitions in Italy.
Early life and education
Bednarz studied with Oleh Krysa at the Eastman School of Mus ...
, violin
1997
Olivier Thouin
Olivier Thouin is a Canadian violinist. He has performed as a soloist with several leading symphony orchestras in Canada, including the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, Les Violons du Roy, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. A highly ...
Wonny Song
Wonny Song (born 1978) is a Canadian pianist.
Biography
Song was born in South Korea and grew up in Montreal. He began piano studies at the age of eight and received a full scholarship to Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music in 1994. He ...
Jean-Sébastien Roy
Jean-Sébastien Roy (born August 14, 1977) is a Canadian curler from Gatineau, Quebec.
Career
Roy is a two time provincial junior champion, winning in 1995 as the third for Yanick Gaudreault and in 1997 as the third for Philippe Lemay. At the ...
Valérie Milot
Valérie Milot is a Canadian harpist born in the province of Quebec. In 2008, she became the first harpist to win the prestigious ''Prix d’Europe'' (97th edition). Ms Milot is renowned for her mature musical instinct as well as for the strength ...