It was a party Sunday afternoon for the Quebec concert music scene on the occasion of the 27e Opus awards gala, organized by the Conseil québécois de la musique to reward the achievements of the 2022-2023 season. Thirty prizes were awarded to different artisans gathered in the Bourgie Room of the Museum of Fine Arts.
Like last year, it was the actor Jocelyn Lebeau who was master of this ceremony lasting two and a half hours, enhanced with performances by the pianist Serhiy Salov, the Masmoudi Quartette (world music), but especially the ensemble Collectif9, which provided the real soundtrack for the event.
The most notable moment was undoubtedly the Tribute Prize, awarded to Isolde Lagacé for her entire career, notably at the head of the Bourgie Hall, where she worked for a dozen years.
For the occasion, video testimonies were broadcast from patron Pierre Bourgie, pianist Alexandre Tharaud, his musician sister Geneviève Soly as well as Olivier Godin and Caroline Louis, who succeeded him as director of the venue on rue Sherbrooke .
As for other awards, some performers have been awarded twice. This is the case of Les Violons du Roy, for a concert version of the opera Alcina by Handel (Concert of the year: medieval, Renaissance, baroque music) and a collaboration with violist Antoine Tamestit (Concert of the year: multiple repertoires).
This is also the case for the Molinari Quartet, for its complete Berio quartets (Concert of the year: modern, contemporary music) and Nordic lights, a recording made at Atma with Montreal Symphony Orchestra oboist Vincent Boilard (Album of the year: modern, contemporary music). Olga Ranzenhofer, one of the ensemble’s two violinists, was also named Director of the Year.
The duo Stick & Bow, composed of cellist Juan Sebastian Delgado and marimbist Krystina Marcoux, for its part had the honor of being winners in two categories, Performer of the Year and Outreach Abroad.
Concerning the other more prestigious prizes, let us mention that of Composer of the year, given to Katia Makdissi-Warren, and that of Discovery of the year for the pianist Meagan Milatz.
Among the other winners, we include the pianists Marianne Trudel and Gentiane MG in jazz, Les Arrivants and Oktoecho in world music, René Lussier and Productions SuperMusique in contemporary music, electroacoustics, as well as Bon Débarras and the trio formed by Laura Risk, Nicholas Williams and Rachel Aucoin in traditional Quebec music.
In classical, pianist Bruce Liu was rewarded in Classical, Romantic, Post-Romantic Music for a concert given at the Fernand-Lindsay Musical Society in Joliette. The complete collection of Massenet’s melodies from Atma (13 discs) was also awarded in the Album of the Year category: classical, romantic, post-romantic music.