2009 Karen Kieser Prize winner announced

November 19, 2009 - The University of Toronto Faculty of Music is pleased to announce the 2009 Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music will be awarded to Constantine Caravassilis for his work, Sappho de Mytilène for mezzo-soprano, flute and piano. A performance of the winning composition is planned for the gamUT ensemble concert on March 19, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in Walter Hall. Constantine Caravassilis is in the third year of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree program at the University of Toronto. A detailed biography is available on the composer's website.

KAREN KIESER PRIZE IN CANADIAN MUSIC
The Karen Kieser Prize is awarded each year to a graduate student in composition whose work is judged by a blue-ribbon jury as especially promising. Karen Kieser was a distinguished triple-graduate of the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto and a former Head of Music at CBC Radio. Friends and colleagues endowed The Karen Kieser Prize in Canadian Music upon her death in 2002 as a tribute to her life, her work and her passionate devotion to the cause of Canadian music and musicians. To make a donation in support of the Kieser Prize, please contact Bruce Blandford at 416-946-3145.

Past winners of the Karen Kieser Prize are:

Igor Correia (2008): “Three Songs of Great Range” for mezzo-soprano, clarinet, violin and harp.
Fuhong Shi (2007): “Lightenings” for Chamber Ensemble
Christopher William Pierce (2006): “Melody with Gesture” for wind quintet, string quintet, celeste and percussion
Katarina Curcin (2005): “. . . walking away from . . .” for string quartet
Craig Galbraith (2004): “The Fenian Cycle” for mezzo soprano, english horn and string quartet
Andrew Staniland (2003): “Tapestry” for clarinet, cello and tape
Abigail Richardson (2002): “dissolve” for harp, piano and percussion

FACULTY OF MUSIC, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto is regarded as a top destination for the professional and scholarly study of music in North America. As part of Canada's largest university, the Faculty of Music is home to a diverse and dynamic community of scholars, performers, composers and educators. With superb educators in every area of music study and dozens of areas of specialization in our degree and diploma programs, we offer an education that is both broad and deep. Our alumni are the crème de la crème in their disciplines, garnering such awards as Grand Prix of the George Enescu International Composition Competition, Prix Italia, Peabody Award, Juno Awards, National Jazz Awards, and occupying prominent positions with such ensembles as the Toronto Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony and the Berlin Philharmonic. The Faculty of Music's annual concert season features students, faculty and guests in over 100 public concerts, lectures and master classes. This year's featured guests include composers Krzysztof Penderecki and Osvaldo Golijov, pianist Angela Hewitt, soprano Dawn Upshaw, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, and the American Brass Quintet, among others.

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