Musical Instrument Bank 2009 Competition
Deadline
The deadline is 1 April 2009.
About the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank
The Canada Council for the Arts created its Musical Instrument Bank in 1985 to acquire exceptional stringed instruments to lend to gifted established professional musicians or young professional musicians about to embark on or at the beginning of an international solo or chamber music career. The musicians who receive these instruments play them throughout the loan period in concerts around the world and in recordings.
In 1985, through a legacy of $100,000 from the Barwick family of Ottawa, the Canada Council established the initial operating fund. In September 1987 the Musical Instrument Bank acquired its first instrument, a 1706 David Tecchler cello, through the initiative and fundraising efforts of W.I.M. Turner, then Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Consolidated-Bathurst Inc. in Montreal, and cellist Denis Brott of Montreal. This instrument, now known as the 1706 Brott Turner Tecchler cello, is on loan to Denis Brott for the duration of his career.
The Musical Instrument Bank acquired its second instrument in 1988, through transfer of the 1717 Windsor-Weinstein Stradivari from the Ontario Heritage Foundation. Leon Weinstein had donated the violin to the Foundation in 1980.
In July 1997, the Canada Council received a two-year loan of three Cremonese violins from an anonymous American donor: the 1689 Baumgartner Stradivari, the 1702 Lyall Stradivari and the 1729 Guarneri del Gesù.
In December 1998, the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation of Montreal donated two cellos to the Musical Instrument Bank. Andrew Shaw of Toronto donated the 1850 Shaw-Adam cello bow in December 2000.
In January 2000, the anonymous American donor lent the ca. 1696 Bonjour Stradivari cello, the 1820 Joannes Franciscus Pressenda violin and the 1902 Enrico Rocca violin for two-year terms, which were extended to 31 August 2003. He recently lent the 1700 Taft Stradivari violin for a three-year term. The donor has since extended these loans for another three years.
In December 2002, R.D. Bell of Ottawa donated the ca. 1700 Bell Giovanni Tononi violin to the Canada Council. In January 2003, the late Pearl Palmason of Toronto lent the 1747 Palmason Januarius Gagliano violin to the Canada Council for a three-year period, which has been extended for another three years.
In 2006, the anonymous American donor lent the 1715 Dominicus Montagnana violin to the Canada Council.
The Canada Council for the Arts gratefully thanks the donors and lenders of these fine instruments for their generosity and kind assistance in the development of the Musical Instrument Bank, which currently manages instruments valued at over US $26 million.
Description of Awards
Competitions are held when the Musical Instrument Bank acquires new instruments or when previous loans expire. Each loan period lasts three years.
The following are available in the current competition:
- 1717 Windsor-Weinstein Stradivari violin
- 1689 Baumgartner Stradivari violin
- 1700 Taft Stradivari violin
- 1729 Guarneri del Gesù violin
- 1715 Dominicus Montagnana violin
- 1820 Joannes Franciscus Pressenda violin
- 1902 Enrico Rocca violin
- ca. 1700 Bell Giovanni Tononi violin
- 1747 Palmason Januarius Gagliano violin
- ca. 1696 Bonjour Stradivari cello
- 1824 McConnell Nicolaus Gagliano cello
- 1850 Shaw-Adam cello bow.
Eligibility
Eligible professional Canadian musicians are:
- talented young musicians of great potential, who have begun or are about to embark on an international solo or chamber music career
- mid-career or established musicians who already have an international solo or chamber music career, and who are in a key period with regard to career development.
All applicants must demonstrate that having a fine stringed instrument or bow at this point in their development will provide a major boost to their career and (or) enable them to move to the next level in their career.
Applicants must:
- be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- agree to maintain permanent resident status in Canada for the term of the loan, unless the Canada Council agrees otherwise
- have completed their basic training in music (university graduation or the equivalent in specialized training)
- have a history of public presentation of their work
- be recognized as professional musicians by other artists in their field
- have submitted any outstanding final or annual report related to a previous Canada Council for the Arts grant or Musical Instrument Bank loan.
The holder of a Canada Council instrument may compete in one subsequent competition for renewal of the loan of the same instrument, if the instrument is available for renewal. After two terms with one instrument, a musician may compete for the loan of another instrument. (Note: Starting in 2012, anyone who has already had an instrument for 4 loans of 3 years will no longer be eligible. This rule will apply to all future competitions.)
Applicants to Musical Instrument Bank competitions and holders of instruments may also apply to one other Canada Council for the Arts Grants to Professional Artists program as well as a travel grant in the same fiscal year.
This Canada Council program is accessible to Aboriginal artists and artists of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Assessment of Applications
Applications are assessed by a peer assessment committee composed of experienced professional musicians or other peers who are selected for their expertise in classical and contemporary string repertoire, technique and understanding of career development dynamics. Members are also chosen to ensure fair representation of gender, the two official languages, and the various regions and cultures of Canada. The committee may include an international expert.
The committee evaluates all applications in a national competitive context and selects the finalists, who will be invited to a live audition and interview (held from 21 to 24 September 2009 in Toronto). A number of finalists will be selected, based on the artistic quality of their recorded performance and on the rest of their support material (see Part B of the application form). Finalists must be prepared to discuss their career plans during the audition, describing how having an exceptional instrument or bow from the Musical Instrument Bank at this point in their career would help them achieve their goals and (or) bring their career to the next level.
The repertoire categories for the live auditions will be the same as those for the pre-selection, but finalists may choose new pieces. Finalists will play solo works or solo works with piano accompaniment at the auditions.
Selection criteria include artistic excellence of the applicants’ playing, their professional career potential, and their ability to take full advantage of Canadian and international professional engagements during the loan period. The latter two points will be assessed from the written support material, as well as at the
in-person interview during the live audition process.
Travel Expenses
The live auditions will be held in Toronto from 21 to 24 September 2009. Finalists will receive a Canada Council travel grant of up to $1,000, depending on where they live, to help them travel to the auditions. Finalists will be responsible for covering any additional travel and accommodation costs and for making their own arrangements. The Canada Council will send finalists information on travel and funding available.
Documentary Film on the Musical Instrument Bank
New: The Canada Council is collaborating with Rotating Planet Productions (www.rotatingplanet.com) to produce an independent documentary film on the 2009 Musical Instrument Bank competition.
The Canada Council will allow Rotating Planet Productions to film elements of the 2009 competition (such as the auditions and the peer assessment committee meeting, in cases where the musicians and the members of the peer assessment committee have given their prior consent), as well as the presentation event and concert. The musicians and the peer assessment committee members will be invited to sign release forms giving Rotating Planet Productions permission to film their part in the competition. (Note that the Canada Council reserves the right to ask the camera operators to leave the room at any time.)
Application Guidelines and Form
2009 Competition Musical Instrument Bank (PDF Acrobat format)
This application form can be printed; it cannot be completed online.
Further Information
Janet Riedel Pigott
Program Officer
Endowments and Prizes
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 4116
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impared callers: 613-565-5194
Fax: 613-566-4430
January 2009