Meet the winners!
Applicants were invited to create a musical project based on what they thought the next generation of early music might look like. Applications should include creative way(s) to present early music with a focus on issues that are important to them! Bonus points if they include friends or colleagues in their project. Contestants applied by sending an audio file or by being even more creative and sending in a music video! The goal is to engage more youth in what we do and grow the next generation of musicians!
“It’s been fascinating seeing what young artists have created based on the criteria for the submissions. The variety of the submissions was an eye opener, and we are excited about the future of the initiative.” – Julia Halbert, Competition Coordinator.
First Place: Emily Saville
Born in the United Kingdom, Emily Saville developed a keen interest in early music whilst studying modern trombone at the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she began learning sackbut with Adam Woolf. After finishing her undergraduate degree, she went on to complete a masters degree in Historical Performance at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Switzerland, studying historical trombone with Catherine Motuz. Emily is regularly invited to play with groups across Europe, including Ensemble Phoenix Munich, Abendmusiken Basel, The City Musick, Ensemble Responsorium, Magnificat, Ensemble Irini, and the Europäisches Hanse-Ensemble, recording CDs with the latter in 2022 and 2023. She has performed in various series and festivals, including ReRenaissance Basel and the Lausanne Festival of Improvisation, can be heard on discs released by Naxos, Toccata, and CPO, and was crowned the winner of the inaugural British Trombone Society Sackbut Competition in 2022. Ever enthusiastic about the art of creative teaching, Emily has taken an active role in learning and participation projects with organisations such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the English Touring Opera, and Glyndebourne Opera House, and holds a teaching licentiate from the Royal Academy of Music. She is frequently invited to teach in and around Basel, including in both the modern and historical trombone classes of the Musik Akademie Basel Musikschule. Emily is currently studying for a Masters degree in Historical Trombone Pedagogy at the Schola Cantorum, with the overarching goal of enjoying a career that collectively encompasses historical performance, research, and education.
Emily’s interview in our series Intimate Conversations will be released on July 11. Stay tuned for the release here.
Emily’s winning submission – $500 cash prize!
“I believe that the future of early music lies in its integration into music education at a much younger age. Some of the tools and approaches that are used in historical performance can be readily transferred into children’s music lessons, increasing the creativity of the students, making the lessons more engaging, and making younger people more aware of early music as an avenue to explore.” – Emily
Second Place: Matylda Adamus
Matylda Adamus is a polish cellist based in The Netherlands. She completed her Master’s in historical cello with distinction for “conveying the full range of musical expression” at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague in June 2022, under the guidance of Lucia Swarts. In 2020 she graduated from Conservatorio Claudio Monteverdi Bolzano, from the modern cello class of Roberto Trainini. She was introduced to early music in 2018 by Catherine Jones in Conservatorio Felice dall’Abaco in Verona, where she participated for two years in different courses. She collaborates with the orchestras such as: Orchestre des Champs-Elysses, Le Concert des Nations, Academia Montis Regalis, Theresia Orchestra and Jeune Orchestre de l’Abbaye. In March 2022 she performed as a soloist in the Triple Concerto of Beethoven during the Tour “177” of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century under the baton of Jonathan Cohen during the “Side by Side project”. Since 2023 she participates in the Orchestral Academy of Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment in London.She performed in concert halls such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie de Paris, Elbphilhamonie Hamburg, Teatro Bibiena, Teatro Maggio Fiorentino, L’Auditori Barcelonaetc. She took part in recordings for Polish Radio (Orkiestra historyczna oh!“Sonety Krymskie” by Stanislaw Moniuszko, 2019) and Alia Vox (Le Concert des Nations under the baton of Jordi Savall).
Matylda’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/adamus_cello?igshid=NGExMmI2YTkyZg==
Click here to learn about her project collaborator and classical guitarist, Saverio Libergoli.
About Matylda’s Submission – $350 cash prize!
“The project “Trascrizioni Concertanti” focuses on the repertoire from the beginning of the romantic époque and presents witty and sparkling pieces that we transcribed for our ensemble – Stauffer guitar and historical cello. In our repertoire choices we would like to focus on the potential that romantic guitar has, and yet, is not fully acknowledged in the concert programs nowadays. We think that in the future, the interest of performing later repertoire will continue to grow as well as the use of less popular instruments (such as Stauffer guitar).” – Matylda
Third Place: Ian Sabourin
Ian is a Canadian countertenor raised in Ottawa and based in Montreal, renowned for his unique sound, powerful high notes, and diverse repertoire. He has been awarded the Fellowship Stingray Audience Award and recently joined the Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier Lyrique as their first countertenor. Ian is also a professional chorister in Montreal with various professional ensembles such as Ensemble Caprice, Harmonies des Saisons, and Ottawa Bach Choir.
Upcoming performances include his soloist role for Handel’s Israel in Egypt with Choeur Classique de Montreal, his soloist role for Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with The Peterborough Singers, and his debut with ODM as Ottone from L’incoronazione di Poppea.
Ian’s clarity and evenness of tone have been highly praised in his 2022/2023 season, which includes covering a staged version of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater at Edmonton Opera, as soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Solomon in Handel’s Solomon with Caelis Academy Ensemble in Ottawa, touring with Musique Royale for Handel’s Messiah, and as Orlando in Handel’s Orlando with Opera McGill in his final year of studies.
Ian also appeared as a bass-baritone on contemporary ensemble Lyrico’s debut album ‘Noel à l’Opéra,’ recorded with Orchestre Philharmonique et Chouer Mélomanes. In July 2022, at the Lameque Baroque Festival, Ian’s voice was described as “stunning, with a powerful timbre – the kind of voice you can listen to for hours without getting tired.”
Ian earned a Masters in Early Music/Opera Performance from McGill University, where he studied with mezzo-soprano Annamaria Popescu. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Voice Performance from McGill University, where he studied with soprano Dominique Labelle. Ian obtained his Bachelors in Music from the University of Toronto, where he studied with countertenor Daniel Taylor.
About Ian’s Submission
“My goal is to blend Early Music with Electronic Music and thereby create EBM “Electric Baroque Music”, like EDM “Electric Dance Music”. It combines the traditional elegance and complexity of Baroque music with the modern energy and innovation of electronic music. By using modern production, arranging, and composition techniques, I am able to make early music more accessible to the modern audience.” – Ian
