44th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition - Jurors
Clemens Merkel - Juror
Clemens Merkel’s unconventional sound defines a new sensibility in contemporary music, through its intimate purity of tone, its settled understanding of microtonal or unconventional harmonic language, and its unhurried sensitivity. He is well known for innovative interpretations of Bach and John Cage, and is sought after by composers worldwide as an inspiration for new repertoire. His diverse collaborators range from the Wandelweiser collective to Montréal’s Musique Actuelle community, and from emerging experimentalists to today’s most revered composers.
For over a decade, Merkel’s unusual sound has fused with that of the Quatuor Bozzini, considered one of the world’s leading string quartets. Together they have mentored an entire generation of creators through the Composer’s Kitchen; have released numerous critically acclaimed albums on their collection qb label; undertake multiple tours annually to be featured at festivals worldwide; and maintain a profound impact on the music scene across Canada and Europe in particular. They nourish Montréal audiences with unusual self-produced events that bridge worlds and cross boundaries of style, generation and culture.
Following an early career in Europe, where he contributed to the continent’s leading ensembles, Merkel has made Montréal his home since 2000. He supports and advocates for new music in Québec and in Canada, and is regularly sought after as speaker, curator and adviser. His presence is felt in academia as well, through articles written for the Revue Circuit, and through his teaching at Concordia University. He’s a passionate chef and lives in Montréal’s Portuguese neighborhood together with his wife Isabelle Bozzini and children Félix and Béatrice.
Stéphanie Bozzini - Juror
Stéphanie Bozzini is a multi-faceted modern-day violist, with significant contributions in various musical fields ranging from historically informed performance to new music improvisation. She is a founding member of Quatuor Bozzini, a new music ensemble that celebrated its twentieth year in 2020. Noted for its recordings and concerts in the New York Times and The Guardian, Quatuor Bozzini’s prizes include the 2018 Opus Prize for Artist of the Year, and finalist in the Grand Prix du Conseil des Arts de Montréal 2012.
With Quatuor Bozzini, she has appeared at many major festivals in Europe and the Americas. The quartet’s numerous recordings, from their label Collection QB, have garnered myriad prizes, nominations and acclaimed critics most notably from the Conseil québécois de la musique, as well as the 2009 German Recording Critics’ prize.
Her playing is often characterized as supple and intense, with the deep and rich sonorities so prized in a chamber musician. Collaborations outside the quartet include larger ensembles (Arion, Les Violons du Roy, Tafelmusik, Tonhalle Orchestra, SMCQ), and solo engagements in Europe (HCMF, RU; Ostrava Days Festival, Czech Republic; NY MUSIK, Sweden) and the USA (REDCAT CalArts, Los Angeles). Stéphanie Bozzini teaches viola at Concordia University, and coaches the next generation of composers and performers via the Quatuor Bozzini’s Performer’s Kitchen, Composer’s Kitchen, and Bozzini Lab. She lives in Montréal with her husband and three children.
Isabelle Bozzini - Juror
Apassionate chamber player, cellist Isabelle Bozzini is dedicated to exploring two parallel worlds — new music of all kinds and music on period instruments. This endeavour continuously challenges her and nourishes her artistic aspirations.
She is a founding member of the Quatuor Bozzini which since its inception in 1999 has become one of Canada’s leading string quartets on national and international scenes. Playing close to forty concerts per year, the Bozzinis produce their own concert series in Montréal including the Salon des compositeurs + Composer’s Kitchen event. They tour several times per year in Europe, the USA and Canada and have launched the label collection qb in the Fall of 2004 in collaboration with DAME. Isabelle Bozzini also works with Ensemble Kore, and various improvising artists such as Malcolm Goldstein, François Houle, Benoît Delbecq, Diane Labrosse and Jean Derome. Having collaborated for many years with Joël Thiffault and the Montréal Baroque Orchestra, Isabelle Bozzini now plays regularly with Ensemble Arion. She also plays with Idées Heureuses, Ensemble Caprice, the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, and French harpsichordist and conductor Hervé Niquet.
Alissa Cheung - Juror
Alissa Cheung is a member of Quatuor Bozzini, based in Montréal, QC. Her solo and chamber performances have taken her throughout Canada, USA, Europe and Asia, and her work has been featured in the New York Times, The Guardian UK, the Edmonton Journal, the Edmonton Sun, and has been broadcast on British Broadcasting Corporation (UK), Österreichischen Rundfunks (Austria), Yleisradio (Finland), Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (The Netherlands), and CBC Radio (Canada).
As a composer, her works have been performed at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur (Montréal) by Ensemble Arkea, at the University of Michigan by Arx Duo, percussion duo, and at New York and Chicago by Instruments of Happiness electric guitar quartet. Other works have been performed in Australia by Duo Myburgh-Feakes, in Boston by the Boston String Quartet, and in Switzerland by Duo Luce. She is regularly featured as a composer at C’mon Festival in Edmonton, and upcoming performances include commissions with violinist, Mark Fewer, with ensemble Now and Then, and with Quatuor Bozzini. In these latter works she experiments with improvisational aspects as well as performer’s choice as a way to combine the virtuosity of the performer with the acoustic vision of the composer.
Glenn Hodgins - Jury Chair
Glenn Hodgins is responsible for the overall management and leadership of the organization. He works with the National Board and CMC Regional Directors to implement the strategic goals and objectives of the Centre. From 2012 – 2013 he served as the Vice-Chair of the Ontario Regional Council. Previously, he was the Executive Director of the Ottawa Chamber Music Society: curators of Ottawa Chamberfest, one of the largest international chamber music festivals in the world. He was instrumental in strengthening the overall organizational capacity and expanding its year round presenting and community engagement programs. Prior to the Ottawa Chamber Music Society, Glenn spent seven years at the Ontario Arts Council where he was the Program Officer for the Touring and Compass Programs, and 12 years at the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir where he was Director of Operations, Touring and Finance. A native of Toronto, Glenn holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Toronto where he studied with Borys Lysenko. Prior to that, he received the Associate Royal Conservatory Toronto (ARCT) diploma in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. After graduating from U of T, he also completed the Music Performance and Communications program for performing artists.
Ian Cusson - Commissioned Composer
Ian Cusson is a Canadian composer of art song, opera and orchestral work. Of Métis (Georgian Bay Métis Community) and French Canadian descent, his work explores the Canadian Indigenous experience, including the history of the Métis people, the hybridity of mixed-racial identity, and the intersection of Western and Indigenous cultures.
He studied composition with Jake Heggie and Samuel Dolin and piano with James Anagnoson at the Glenn Gould School. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the Chalmers Professional Development Grant, the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Award, and several grants through the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council. Ian was an inaugural Carrefour Composer in Residence with the National Arts Centre Orchestra from 2017-2019. He is currently the Composer-in-Residence for the Canadian Opera Company for 2019-2021. He is an Associate Composer of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers.
He lives in Toronto with his wife and four children.