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 (, ) is responsible for promoting and protecting the culture in the Canadian province of Quebec. The current minister, since 2022, is Mathieu Lacombe.
The ministry was formed in 2012 after the immigr ...
of the
Government of Quebec
The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...
. 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, 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, 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 (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...
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 and Georges Savaria. 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.
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 ...
Jean-Marie Beaudet
Jean-Marie Beaudet (20 February 1908 – 19 March 1971) was a Canadian conducting, conductor, organist, pianist, radio producer, and music educator. He had a long career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, serving variously as a music prod ...
Jean Leduc
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* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jea ...
Karen Quinton
Karen Quinton is a Toronto-based Canadian pianist, organist, harpsichordist and music educator. She has performed as a soloist with many symphony orchestras in Canada, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchest ...
, 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 ...
Robert Langevin
Robert Langevin is a Canadian flautist. He has been principal flautist of the New York Philharmonic since 2000 and is a former principal flautist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He was associate principal flautist with the Montreal Symphony O ...
Sophie Rolland
Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom".
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* Soph ...
Philippe Magnan Philippe is a masculine given name, cognate to Philip, and sometimes also a surname. The name may refer to:
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* Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer
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, oboe
1988
Brigitte Rolland
Brigitte Rolland (born 8 October 1964) is a Canadian violinist. In 1988 she won the Prix d'Europe and was placed second in the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra Competition. She has appeared as a soloist in concerts with ...
, violin
1989 Claude Labelle, piano
1990 Marie-Claude Bilodeau, piano
1991 Stéphane Rancourt, oboe
1992 Guylaine Flamand, piano
1993
Pascale Giguère
Pascale is a common Francophone given name, the feminine of the name Pascal. The same spelling is also an Italian form of the masculine name ''Pascal'', and an Italian surname derived from the given name.
Pascale derives from the Latin ''pas ...
, violin
1994 Mark Freiheit, piano
1995
Stéphan Sylvestre
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* Stephan, South Dakota, United States
* Stephan (given name), a masculine given name
* Stephan (surname), a Breton-language surname
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* Sankt-Stephan
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* Stephan-Oterma
* Stephani
* Stephe ...
, piano
1996
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, Les Violons du Roy, and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. A highly active chamber musi ...
, violin
1998
Mariane Patenaude
Marianne is a female name. It is the French version of the Greek Mariamne, which is a variant of Mary, ultimately from the Hebrew Miriam ( מִרְיָם Miryám), Mirjam (Aramaic: ''Mariam'').Benoit Loiselle, cello
2000 Catherine Meunier, percussion
2001 Manelli Pirzadeh, piano
2002
Vincent Boucher
Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer."
People with the given name Artists
*Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...
, organ
2003
Wonny Song
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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 ea ...
Jocelyne Roy Jocelyne is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Jocelyne (singer), (1951–1972), a French singer of the Yé-yé period
* Jocelyne Bloch, a Swiss neurosurgeon
* Jocelyne Boisseau, a French film and television actress
* Jo ...
, flute
2006
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 ...
, violin
2007
Caroline Chéhadé
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* J. C. Caroline (1933–2017), American football player
* Jamie Caroline (born 1999), British racing drive ...
Bénédicte Lauzière
Bénédicte may refer to:
*Bénédicte Augst (born 1968), French rhythmic gymnast
*Bénédicte Couvreur, French film producer
* Bénédicte Cronier (born 1961), French bridge player
* Bénédicte Dorfman-Luzuy (born 1971), French rower
* Bénédict ...
Felix Hong
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* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
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* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...