Established in 2014 by the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance, and celebration of excellence in music composition.
Two international prizes recognize excellence in new Jewish music: The Azrieli Prize for Jewish Music is awarded to a composer who has written the best new major work, and the Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music is awarded to encourage composers to creatively and critically engage with the question “What is Jewish music?”
The Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music was added in 2019 to engage Canadian composers in creating new musical works that address the complexities of composing concert music in Canada today.
Scores, proposals, and supporting documents for these biennial prizes are accepted from nominators and individual composers of all faiths, ages, genders, backgrounds, and affiliations. The winning submissions are selected by two juries made up of leading experts in the fields of music creation, performance, and research.
All three prizes are awarded to composers whose work displays the utmost creativity, artistry, technical mastery, and professional expertise. Winners receive a $50,000 cash prize, the premiere of their prize-winning work in Montréal, subsequent international performances, and a commercial recording of their work on the Analekta label.
Further aims of AMP are to educate the public about the universal appeal and artistic importance of both Jewish and Canadian music through live performance, recording, composer talks, panel discussions or other related programming.
Learn more about the Azrieli Music Prizes at azrielifoundation.org.