The Azrieli Foundation Is Delighted to Launch The Azrieli Music Project

Dr. Sharon Azrieli Perez, noted operatic soprano and scholar in Jewish and cantorial music, has spear-headed the creation of the new prize: “Music has always played an important role in the development of cultural identities. Whether through folk traditions, in liturgical settings or in the concert hall, music re-flects history and soul. In creating this extraordinary opportunity for composers of Jewish orchestral mu-sic, we hope to sustain music’s vital continuity through the long and rich history of Jewish people and cul-ture. The Azrieli Music Project will become the medium for innovation, creation and risk-taking by today’s most inspired orchestral composers.”

The question What is Jewish Music? is at the heart of a constantly evolving cultural dialogue. Taking into account the rich and diverse history of Jewish musical traditions, the AMP defines “Jewish Music” as music that incorporates a Jewish thematic or Jewish musical influence. Jewish themes may include biblical, his-torical, liturgical, secular or folk elements. Defining Jewish music as both deeply rooted in history and tra-dition and forward-moving and dynamic, the AMP encourages themes and content drawn from contempo-rary Jewish life and experience. The AMP challenges orchestral composers of all faiths, backgrounds and affiliations to engage creatively and critically with this question in submitting their work. (For a more de-tailed description of how the AMP defines Jewish Music, please see: http://www.azrielifoundation.org/music/what-is-jewish-music/)

Joseph Rouleau, C.C., G.O.Q., one of the world’s foremost operatic basses and Honorary President of Jeu-nesses Musicales Canada, will serve as Chair of The AMP Advisory Council. Mr. Rouleau comments, “It is a tremendous pleasure to help launch this significant new prize, which offers such extraordinary opportuni-ties – for the two composers who will have their work performed by Maestro Nagano and the OSM, and for the public, who will benefit from the creation of two new works of art on the fascinating theme of Jew-ish music.” Rouleau is joined on the Advisory Council by soprano Dr. Sharon Azrieli Perez, Director on the Board of the Azrieli Foundation, Canadian composer Ana Sokolovic, Judge Barbara Seal, C.M., and classical music philanthropist David Sela. The AMP Jury will be announced at a later date.

The Azrieli Prize in Jewish Music is an international prize, awarded to the living composer of a recently composed and/or performed work of orchestral Jewish music, of minimum 15 minutes duration. The work must have been written in the last 10 years (after January 1, 2005), and have never been commercially recorded. Composers may be of any age, experience level, nationality, faith, background or affiliation. Deadline for submissions by open nomination is January 1, 2016.

The Azrieli Commissioning Competition is a Canadian commissioning grant for a work of new orchestral Jewish music between 15 and 25 minutes duration. This prize is limited to Canadian citi-zens or permanent residents of any age, experience level, faith, background or affiliation. A written proposal of the work to be composed, plus two excerpts of three-minutes each from previously completed works (score and recording) must be submitted by March 15, 2015. The deadline for the completed composition will be July 1, 2016.

Further details, score guidelines, deadlines, and the online and application form, may be found at: www.azrielifoundation.org/music

The Azrieli Foundation is a Canadian philanthropic organization that supports a wide range of initiatives and programs in the fields of education, architecture and design, Jewish community, Holocaust commem-oration and education, scientific and medical research, and the arts.



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