Carmen Braden (Yellowknife, NT) and Heather Hindman (Edmonton) are this year’s recipients of the Roberta Stephen Composition award.
The Roberta Stephen Award offers support to a Canadian woman composer aged 36 or older for professional development such as further studies, conferences, or workshops, or composers’ festivals. Established by the late Calgary composer and publisher Roberta Stephen, the award is administered by the Association of Canadian Women Composers.
Carmen Braden (Yellowknife, NT) is twice winner of the Western Canadian Music Award Classical Composer of the year. Her genre-spanning work as composer and songwriter features northern themes. Through her company Black Ice Sound she hosts a performance series, and her works have been performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Classique de Montreal, and many other choral and instrumental ensembles both in Canada and internationally. Braden will use her award for six months of individual mentored study of career-life balance, with the goal of creating even deeper and more authentic music and maximizing the potential of her time and energy.
Heather Hindman (Edmonton, AB) will use her award to travel to the PRISMS Contemporary Music Festival in Arizona for a performance of her brass quintet, Fanfare for an Uncommon Person. Hindman holds a M.Mus. in Composition from McGill University and her works have represented Canada at ISCM Festivals in 2011 and 2023. She has received numerous grants and commissions, most recently a commission for solo flute for Chenoa Anderson, a piece for organ and percussion for Marnie Giesbrecht and Mark Segger, and in early 2024 her solo piano collection of eight pieces for students will be published in book format with support from the Canada Council for the Arts. Ms. Hindman is currently an Assistant lecturer at the University of Alberta and works to broaden the inclusion of contemporary music in all educational settings.
