E-Gré National Music Competition - Canadian Music Centre

The 47th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition in STRINGS

Finals: May 10 – 12, 2024

Brandon, Manitoba – The 47th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition 2024 in Strings: Violin, Viola and Cello, taking place at Brandon University School of Music from May 10-12, 2024, announces that the five selected final string players are: Danielle Greene (violin, NL), Juliana Moroz (cello, MB), Astrid Nakamura (violin, ON), Justin Saulnier (violin, ON) and Tiffany Yeung (violin, ON).

Commonly known as the E-Gré, this annual event focuses on the exceptional performance of contemporary music by Canada’s top emerging artists. Created in 1976 as a tribute to composer, pianist, and violinist S. C. Eckhardt Gramatté, the competition highlights Canadian music and has commissioned 47 new works. E-Gré prizewinners include Officers of the Order of Canada Jon Kimura Parker, Ben Heppner, Louise Bessette and James Ehnes. This year, the competition is open to Canadian string players between the ages of 18 and 35. Hosted at Brandon University’s School of Music each spring, the E-Gré alternates between Strings (2024), Piano (2025) and Voice (2026).

Nationally recognized for its high standards, the E-Gré Competition offers its competitors excellent opportunities. This year, the first prize total value is ca. $11K, which includes a $6000 cash award and a cross-Canada recital tour which provides an additional ca. $5,000 in artist fees for the winner and ca. $5000 for the winner’s pianist. A second cash prize of $2,500 and a third cash prize of $1,500 are also awarded; the fourth, fifth and sixth finalists will receive a $1,000 prize each. In addition, the City of Brandon Prize of $1,000 honours the best performance of the annual commissioned work. The 2024 E-Gré commissioned work is “Let the Stain Remain” by composer Melody McKiver.

The jurors for the preliminary round of the competition, which took place in January 2024, were violinist Carissa Klopoushak, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ironwood Quartet, violist Marina Thibeault, who has recorded three albums on ATMA Classique, and multi-Grammy and Juno-nominated cellist Matt Haimovitz. The jurors for the final round and the Gala Artistsfrom Calgary, AB, are Juno-nominated and Western Canada Music Award winners for Outstanding Classical Recording, the Land’s End Ensemble. Maria van der Sloot, violin; Beth Root Sandvoss, cello; and Susanne Ruberg-Gordon, piano. The jury chair is Holly Nimmons, President, and CEO of the Canadian Music Centre. The E-Gré Final Round will be hosted by E-Gré Artistic Director Megumi Masaki, from Brandon University’s School of Music in Brandon, Manitoba. Lectures, presentations, and the Gala Concert will take place on Friday May 10, 2024. All final recitals will be performed on Saturday, May 11, 2024, in the Lorne Watson Recital Hall, Brandon University School of Music. The Award Ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 12, 2024.

The 2024 E-Gré Competition gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Manitoba Arts Council, SOCAN Foundation, Brandon University and the E-Gré Development Fund, Brandon Area Community Foundation, City of Brandon, Westman Communications Group and many corporate and private donors.

For more information, please contact the E-Gré Competition Office:
Dianna Neufeld, Administrative Officer, eckhardt@brandonu.ca

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BACKGROUNDER: Finalists

Danielle Greene

Native of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Danielle is currently a tenured member of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra violin section. Danielle has performed with many ensembles across the country, including the Alberta Baroque Ensemble, Calgary Philharmonic, l’Orchestre de l’Agora, Tafelmusik, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, to name a few. Danielle holds degrees from the University of Toronto and the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory. Her primary teachers include Jonathan Crow, Barry Shiffman, Erika Raum, and Teng Li. Danielle was winner of the University of Toronto Concerto Competition, and two-time winner of the Glenn Gould School Chamber Music Competition. In 2022, Ms. Greene won 2nd prize at the Orford Award Competition, and her quartet was invited to the Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition in London, England.

Juliana Moroz

Named to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s “30 under 30” in 2021, Winnipeg cellist Juliana Moroz is increasingly recognized as a rising young artist in North America. After receiving her Bachelor’s in Music degree from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings, she is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Music at Rice University with Brinton Averil Smith. Noted performances and awards include her solo debut with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at age 15, a 2020 winner at the Women’s Musical Club’s McLellan Competition for solo performance with the Winnipeg Symphony, and the 2017 Aikins Memorial Trophy at the Winnipeg Music Festival, the Festival’s highest prize for instrumental performance. Juliana has attended the Aspen Summer Music Festival, Morningside Music Bridge Program, Orford Arts Festival, Rome Chamber Music Festival, and was a participant in the inaugural Josef Gingold Chamber Music Festival in Miami, Florida. An avid chamber musician, Juliana has performed with acclaimed chamber musicians’ violinists Amy Schwartz-Moretti and Robert McDuffie, pianist Orion Weiss, and violist of the Emerson Quartet, Lawrence Dutton. Her former teachers are Yuri Hooker and Andrea Bell. She loves to play with her family as a member of the JAGD Quartet and baking desserts, especially macarons.

Astrid Nakamura

Originally from Toronto, Astrid Nakamura maintains an expansive performing career as a chamber, solo, and orchestral violinist. With sustained roles in a diverse array of ensembles and organizations, she is dedicated to collaborating with the leading musicians and composers of our time. Most recently, Astrid was invited to perform in Geneva at the U.N.’s AI For Good Global Summit in May. Devoted to her community in Houston, she regularly instructs education outreach at public schools, and has performed a variety of multidisciplinary concerts in partnership with organizations such as the MD Anderson Cancer Center, NobleMotion Dance, and the University of Houston BRAIN Center. Astrid is currently pursuing her master’s degree with Kathleen Winkler at Rice University on full scholarship from the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation. She plays on the c.1830-1850 ’Eckhardt-Gramatte, Joachim’ Georges Chanot I violin, generously on loan from the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.

Justin Saulnier

Justin Saulnier is an 18-year-old Canadian violinist. He made his orchestral solo debut at age 12 with the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra and has since performed with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Canada’s National Arts Center Orchestra, The Pembroke Symphony Orchestra and the Ottawa Youth Orchestra. He has also been invited to play with the Orchestre Metropolitain under the baton of Yannick Nezet Seguin this spring. Justin has received many awards, notably the first prize in the NACO Bursary Competition, second prize in the Concours OSM, the grand prize in the Orchestre Metropolitain OMNI Competition, and the OMFA’s provincial competition. Justin has also enjoyed being concertmaster in the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra, the National Youth Orchestra, and the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra, among others. He is pursuing his undergraduate degree at McGill University with Andrew Wan. Justin plays on a 1680 Ruggeri violin from Cremona, generously loaned to him by Canimex.

Tiffany Yeung

Named one of CBC Music’s “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30,” Tiffany Yeung made her debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Roy Thomson Hall at the age of 13. She was the winner of the 2023 Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures Prize and the recipient of the commissioned work prize at the 2023 OSM Competition. She has won top prizes at the Shean Strings Competition, the Remember Enescu International Violin Competition, and the Vancouver International Music Competition. Tiffany is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree under Min Jeong Koh and Erika Raum at the Glenn Gould School, after beginning her studies at the New England Conservatory with Miriam Fried as a Dean’s Scholar. She performs on the 1869 Jean Baptiste Vuillaume violin with Vuillaume model bow, on loan by the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank.