Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music
Guidelines
The Canada Council is committed to equity and inclusion, and encourages applications and nominations from individuals, groups and organizations from culturally diverse, Deaf, disability and official language minority communities. The Canada Council is committed to reaffirming and revitalizing its relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. Measures are in place in all programs to support these commitments.
Awarded annually, the Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music is a competition for Canadian composers, designed to encourage the creation of new chamber music. The prize was established in 1978 by the Right Honourable Jules Léger, then Governor General of Canada.
Deadline – 1 June 2024
If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
NEW
Your completed identification form, application form, required documents, and support material must be uploaded on or before the deadline date by 11:59 pm (local time) using the Prizes – Submission Portal. Incomplete or late applications will not be assessed.
Application limits – you can submit 1 application for 1 composition per deadline
Notification of results – approximately 5 months after the deadline date
Prize amount – $7,500
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
This prize is open to professional Canadian composers and sound creators including artists who both compose and perform their own compositions, such as improvisers and audio artists.
To be eligible for this prize, you must:
- have maintained a professional artistic practice for a minimum of 2 years
- have at least 1 professional public performance for which you were paid an artist's fee
- be committed to your own artistic vision, retain creative control and be committed to the creation and/or promotion of original work
- be dedicated to the ongoing development of your artistic practice
- actively seek to maximize the audience for your work, regardless of commercial appeal
- be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.
Eligible work
Chamber music is understood as a work with a limited number of instruments, with 1 performer to a part.
You can submit 1 composition written for:
- any combination of performers and instruments, from 2 to 15 (excluding the conductor)
- a range of instruments (not limited to traditional classical instruments) including electroacoustic works for performers and electronics
To be eligible, the submitted composition must have had a first professional public performance during the 3 years before the deadline date of the competition.
A revised work is not eligible.
Application/Nomination Assistance
Application/Nomination Assistance contributes to costs for services to help with a prize application or nomination for individuals who self-identify as:
- Deaf, hard of hearing, having a disability or living with a mental illness
- First Nations, Inuit or Métis facing language, geographic and/or cultural barriers.
To submit a request, contact the Prizes team 1 to 4 weeks prior to the deadline.
Assessment – How are decisions made?
Peer evaluation is fundamental to the Canada Council’s decision-making process. A peer assessment committee, composed of experienced professionals selected for their expertise in their field of practice, will assess the eligible applications. Committee members will also be selected with consideration to fair representation of artistic specializations, Canada’s 2 official languages, First Nations, Inuit and Metis people, Deaf and disability communities, gender, age and the cultural and regional diversity of Canada. The committee may also include a prominent international expert.
The peer assessment committee may decide not to award the prize in a given competition.
All peer assessment committee decisions are final.
Assessment criteria
Applications will be evaluated based the following weighted criteria:
Artistic merit (60%)
- the artistic quality of the composition
Impact (40%)
- the potential impact of your work to advance the overall development of Canadian chamber music
- the influence of your work on enriching and evolving current thinking and practice in chamber music
Required information and support material – What you need to submit
Please refer to the “Instructions” document and the application form for more details.
- Curriculum vitae or resume (3 pages maximum)
- A copy of your score
- A complete audio recording on one track or a link to 1 audio or video recording
- A completed application form
Application preparation
- The Canada Council will make decisions about your eligibility based on the information you provide.
- You are responsible for providing all the information and support material requested.
- Submit only the material requested. Extra material will not be shown to the peer assessment committee.
- Carefully choose your support material as committee members have limited time in which to review each application.
- In addition to filling out your contact information in the application form, if you have an account on the Canada Council’s portal, please ensure that the information is up to date.
Personal information
Personal information collected in this application shall be used for purposes related directly to the program, service or activity of the Canada Council.
The Canada Council may share personal information from applications and nominations for awards with officials in other arts and cultural industry funding agencies and government institutions on a confidential basis. Shared information is limited to your name, contact information, field of practice and project description, and is provided to assist with research, reporting, program planning and evaluation, to present networking or economic opportunities, or to respond to federal reviews. For more information on how your personal information is protected, see our Privacy Notice.
Prize terms and conditions
If your application is successful, the terms and conditions will be outlined in a notification letter.
Once the winner has been contacted, he or she must confirm acceptance of the prize and agree to keep the results of the competition confidential until the official announcement is made.
Prize payment
Winners cannot receive the prize money until all overdue final reports for Canada Council grants and prizes have been submitted and approved.
Participation in promotional activities
The winners must agree to allow their photographs and public information to be used for promotion of the prize and in other Canada Council promotional initiatives. They must also agree to participate fully in all prize related activities.
Previous winners
Visit the Jules Léger Prize web page to download a list of past winners.
Instructions – How to submit an application
Upload your completed identification form, application form, required documents and support material on or before the deadline date by 11:59 pm (local time) using the Prizes – Submission Portal. You must read the instructions and have all your documents ready before you can submit your application in the Prizes – Submission Portal.
Contact information
juleslegerprizes@canadacouncil.ca
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 6004