June 12th, 2012

SOCAN FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF ANNUAL YOUNG COMPOSERS AWARDS; 15 young composers honoured in total,ten of whom hold degrees from or are currently studying at McGill University's Schulich School of Music.

Toronto, June 12th, 2011-The SOCAN Foundation (the Foundation) announced today the recipients of the 21st Annual SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers. This year's competition attracted 167 entries,awarding a total $29,250 in prizes. This year, for the first time ever, a female composer, Zosha Di Castri (BMus 2007) was co-winner of -The John Weinzweig Grand Prize-. The annual SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers recognize Canadian composers under 30 years of age for specific musical works in five categories of concert music.

First prizes($3000) in the five categories were awarded to Zosha Di Castri (BMus 2007) -Sir Ernest MacMillan Awards-, Matthew Ricketts (BMus 2009) -Serge Garant Awards-, Frédéric Le Bel -Pierre Mercure Awards-, Marielle Groven (BMus 2006, MMus 2009) -Godfrey Ridout Awards- and Adam Basanta -Hugh Le Caine Awards-.

Additional Award recipients include: Brian Harman (MMus 2007, DMus-current) (second prize) and Adam Scime (third prize) in the -Sir Ernest MacMillan Awards-; Christopher Goddard (BMus 2008) and Alec Hall (BMus 2007) (second prize/shared) and Duncan Schouten (MMus - current) (third prize) in the -Serge Garant Awards-; Luke Nickel (MMus - current) (second prize) and Ashkan Behzadi (BMus 2012) (third prize) in the -Pierre Mercure Awards-; Alec Hall (BMus 2007) and Christopher Goddard (BMus 2008) (second prize/shared) and Vahram Sargsyan (MMus - incoming) (third prize) in the -Godfrey Ridout Awards-; and Simon Chioini (second prize) and Guillaume Barrette (third prize) in the -Hugh Le Caine Awards-.

The John Weinzweig Grand Prize in the 2012 SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers was awarded jointly to Montreal-based composers Zosha Di Castri (BMus 2007) and Adam Basanta. The prize, for the best overall work submitted in the competition, is valued at $3,000. The two composers were recognized, respectively, for their works Alba for orchestra, and Three Myths of Liberalism an electroacoustic work.

May 16th, 2012

SOCAN FOUNDATION LAUNCHES CHARITABLE FUND

Toronto, May 16th, 2011-The SOCAN Foundation is pleased to announce that it has established the SOCAN Foundation Charitable Fund (the Fund) at Tides Canada Foundation. The purpose of the Fund is to support charitable activities benefiting music creators and music publishers across Canada.

The Fund was established to enhance Canada's thriving music industry and to create and sustain an environment in which composers, lyricists, songwriters and music publishers may be encouraged and educated. Ultimately, the Fund will create greater awareness and education for a better understanding of the value of music and copyright and its importance to the cultural and economic life of our society.

"This exciting development has been a long time in the making," says SOCAN Foundation president Stan Meissner. "Our board is thrilled at the opportunity to expand the reach of the SOCAN Foundation with additional funding generated by donations to this new fund."

Donations of $5 or more to the SOCAN Foundation Charitable Fund are eligible for a charitable tax-deductible receipt issued by Tides Canada Foundation. The SOCAN Foundation advises Tides Canada Foundation regarding grants made from the Fund.

Those wishing to donate are invited to visit www.socanfoundation.ca and select "Donate to our Charitable Fund."

...More "News"...

The McGill 'Digital Composition Studios' ( formerly the 'Electronic Music Studio' ) was founded in 1964. As part of the Composition Area, it plays a vital role within the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. Its mission is to promote and facilitate all activities within the School of Music that involve the creative and applied use of music technologies. As such, it is a meeting place for students, faculty members, and visiting artists and researchers in composition, performance, music technology and sound recording.

Activities within the Digital Composition Studios include teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, compositional projects, performance of works involving technology, creation/research activities (including CIRMMT artistic and research projects), and collaborative projects, as well as supporting events at the Schulich School of Music as required.

Prospective students should note that the Composition Area does not offer a program exclusively in electroacoustic or computer music composition. All students are expected to be proficient in instrumental composition, although extensive opportunities do exist to work with a wide range of approaches to music technology, including mixed works, interactive composition, gestural controllers, acousmatic works, multichannel audio, computer-assisted composition and more.

The DCS is one of three areas within the Schulich School of Music that explore the interaction of music and technology. The other two are the Music Technology Area and the Sound Recording Area.

The Digital Composition Studios (DCS) comprise three large composition studios and three smaller project studios.

Studio 1 - The principal composition studio (link)

Studio 2 - Classroom/Lab for MUCO 541 and MUCO 542 , Classroom for MUCO 341 and MUCO 342 (link)

Studio 3 - This is our Research/Rehearsal space (link)

Studio 4 - This is our lab for MUCO 341 and MUCO 342 (link)

Studio 5 - Our Analog Studio (in need of some renovation) where we keep our Moog Modular and other analog toys. (link)

Studio 6 - Musical Applications of Symbolic Computation (MASC) Lab (link)