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Matthew Ricketts wins grand prize in the 2nd edition Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers

Left to right: Matthew Ricketts and Douglas McNabney
Image by Tam Photography.
From left to right: Laurence Jobidon, Michael Kim Sheng, Jared Miller, Alec Hall, Matthew Ricketts
From left to right: Amy Hillis playing violin, Meagan Milatz playing piano, Chloé Dominguez playing cello
Published: 28 September 2021

ճGraham Sommer Competitionis proud to announce thatMatthew Rickettsis the grand prize winner of thesecondedition of the  Graham Sommer Competition for Young Composers. The $18,000 first prize forMatthew’snew work for piano trio,“Still There,”was among$54,000in total prize earnings awarded at the Concert and Prize Gala on Sunday,September26at Pollack Hall.This national competition for Canadian composers under the age of 35 was founded byDr. Graham Sommer(1946-2016), MDCM’72, a graduate of SM’s Faculty of Medicine and an accomplished pianist and devoted music lover.The inaugural edition took place in 2018.

Five finalistswereselected out of61Canadianapplicantsfromacross the country andlivingabroad. Theywere each commissioned to write a new work for pianotrio, which were premiered bytheGraham Sommer Trio:Amy Hillis, violin;Chloé Dominguez, cello; Meagan Milatz, piano.

Born in British Columbia,Matthew Rickettsis a Canadian composer currently based in New York City. His music moves from extremes of presence and absence, from clamour to quietude, at once reticent and flamboyant.He is a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and a 2020 Gaudeamus Prize nominee.He has also received numerous awards and grants, including eight SOCAN Foundation Young Composer Awards. His works have been heard around the world and performed by numerous ensembles and orchestras including theMivosQuartet,QuatuorBozzini, leNEM,theAspen Philharmonic (Robert Spano, cond.), Esprit Orchestra (Alex Pauk, cond.), the Minnesota Orchestra (Osmo Vänskä, cond.) and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (Kent Nagano, cond.).Matthew holds degrees from SM (BMus'09) and Columbia University (DMA’17), andis currently a Core Lecturer at Columbia University.

The winning piece, as well as all of the performances from Sunday afternoon, may be viewed.

ճ$12,000second prizewas awarded toAlec Hallfor his work, “The National Anthem,”with thethree$6,000honourable mentionprizes going toܰԳDzDz,Michael Kim-ShengԻJared Miller.“Burning in Clarity,”Michael Kim-Sheng's workwas also awarded the $6,000People’sChoice Award, voted upon by the audience in attendance at the concert as well as online. More details on thefivefinalists may be found.

ٴdzܲѳԱ,Retd. AssociateDeanofthe Schulich School of Music and chair of the competition jury,warmly congratulated MatthewRicketts and the finalists.ճother members of theCompetition just werecomposersBrian Current,Nicolas GilbertԻԲǰDZDZć;violinistand composerHelmut Lipsky;Danièle LeBlanc, Executive and Artistic Director ofJeunessesMusicales Canada; andCaroline Rodgers,Co-Founder andEditor-in-Chief, “Ludwig vanMontréal.”

Part of the25thedition of Quebec’sJournéesde la culture,the Concert and Prize Gala was presentedforfree to the public, in person and via webcast,andwasaccompaniedby adiscussionwith the finalistsԻSchulich School of MusicCompositionProfessor,Chris Paul Harmanon Saturday, September 25.

Dr. Graham Sommerdied on October 2, 2016 and left a legacy of excellence in medicine and an abiding love for the transformative power of music. A native of British Columbia, Sommer graduated from SM’s Faculty of Medicine in 1972 and went on to hold positions at Yale and Stanford Universities, becoming a world-class researcher for 37 years.  Dr. Sommer’s enduring passion for music has resonated at SM notably through the Dr. Graham Sommer Piano Fund, which supported the restoration of pianos in SM residences and the purchase of a new piano for Douglas Hall. While Sommer excelled in his chosen field of medicine, he was also inspired by a lifelong love of music fostered by his own accomplishments as a classical pianist and composer.

mcgill.ca/gsc

MEDIA CONTACT FOR THE SCHULICH SCHOOL OF MUSIC:

AnnieSaumier, Managing Director – Communications and Production
annie.saumier [at] mcgill.ca
514-398-8933

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