SOCAN Reveals 2024 SOCAN Foundation Awards Winners

This year’s competition attracted 224 entries, awarding a total of $51,000 to the prize winners. The jury awarded the grand prize to Canadian,  New York-based Taylor Brook for his inspiring piece “Song for Solo Cello.”

“Congratulations to all of this year’s winners for composing music that made enough of an impression on the juries to be chosen as a winner,” said Charlie Andrews, Manager of the SOCAN Foundation. “There are a tremendous amount of talented young Canadian composers and we’re thrilled to be able to help and recognize some of them, so they can continue to create the beautiful music that touches us all.”

The Annual SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers recognize Canadian composers 30 years of age and under for specific musical works in five categories of concert music. The submissions were judged anonymously by a jury of three prominent composers: Dr. Robert Lemay (Sudbury, ON), Jocelyn Morlock (Vancouver, British Columbia), and Afarin Mansouri Tehrani (Toronto, ON).

“Overall the composers demonstrated a great deal of skill, wide-ranging imagination, and that there was a remarkable (and admirable) diversity of styles and influences in their music,” said Morlock.

The Young Audio Visual competition is designed to recognize Canadian composers who are 30 years of age and under, for original musical themes or scores created exclusively for audio-visual support (TV, film, Internet, etc.). The jury for this category was comprised of industry professionals Darren Fung (Los Angeles, California), Judith Gruber-Stitzer (Montreal, QC), and Stephanie Copland(Toronto, ON).

“The level of musicianship and professionalism displayed in this year’s AV composer candidates was impressive.  It gives me great hope that that craft of screen composing is alive and well,” said Fung.

Young Composer Award Recipients:

The Sir Ernest MacMillan Awards (for compositions for no fewer than 13 performers up to full symphony orchestra, which may include vocal participation and may be scored to include electroacoustics)

1^st – Hoi Chak Roydon Tse (Toronto, ON)
2^nd – Matthew Ricketts (New York, USA)
3^rd – Joseph Glaser (Montréal, QC)

The Serge Garant Awards (for compositions for a minimum of three performers to a maximum of 12 performers, with or without voice and/or electroacoustics).

1^st – Taylor Brook (New York, USA)
2^nd – David Storen (North Vancouver, BC)
3^rd – Carmen Vanderveken (Nijmegen, Netherlands)

The Pierre Mercure Awards (for solo or duet compositions, with or without voices and/or electroacoustics)

1^st – Taylor Brook (New York, USA)
2^nd – Gabriel Dufour-Laperriere (Montréal, QC)
3^rd – Hoi Chak Roydon Tse (Toronto, ON)

The Hugh Le Caine Awards (for live or recorded electroacoustics, where the intended performance is, at least in part, through loudspeakers. Works in this category may be multi-media and may include acoustic instrument(s) or voice(s), live or recorded. The principal element in the work must be electroacoustic)

1^st – Guillaume Campion (Montréal, QC)
2^nd – Maxime Fillion, (Montréal, QC)
3^rd – Matthew Horrigan (Vancouver, BC)

The Godfrey Ridout Awards (for works of any number of voices with or without instrumentation and/or electroacoustics)

1^st – Katerina Gimon (Vancouver, BC)
2^nd – Matthew Horrigan (Vancouver, BC)
3^rd – Dylann Miller (Aurora, ON)

The John Weinzweig Grand Prize (for best overall work submitted; applicants do not apply for this award)

Taylor Brook (New York, USA).

Young Audio Visual Composer Award Recipients:

Best Original Score – Non-Fiction

1^st – Antoine Binette Mercier (Montréal, QC)
2^nd – William Kraushaar (Montréal QC)
3^rd – Olivier Bibeau (Quebec, QC)

Best Original Score – Fiction

1^st – Arie Verheul van de Ven (Toronto, ON)
2^nd – Isaias Garcia (Toronto, ON)
3^rd (tie) – Vincent L. Pratte (Los Angeles, USA)
3^rd (tie) – Shaun Chasin (Toronto, ON)

Best Original Theme (opening or closing)

1^st – Emily Klassen (Toronto, ON)
2^nd – Spencer Creaghan (London, ON)
3^rd – Vincent L. Pratte (Los Angeles, USA)

Best Original Score – Animated

1^st – Lora Bidner (Toronto, ON)
2^nd – Benjamin Goldman (Montréal, QC)
3^rd – Toby Sherriff (Los Angeles, USA)

Founded in 1992, SOCAN Foundation is dedicated to fostering musical creativity and promoting a better understanding of the role of music creators in today’s society.