The Prize is a cash amount of $1,000, and is awarded to the winner of the annual Choral Composition Competition. As part of the prize, the winning composition will be premiered by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir at one of their season concerts.

The TMChoir Choral Composition Competition is open to unpublished Canadian composers. There is no age restriction.

Works to be submitted must be unpublished, but do not need to have been composed specifically for this competition.

Prize winners

2015/2016: Stuart Beatch of Regina Saskatchewan won for his composition Psalm 100.

2016/2017: Elizabeth Ekholm of Montreal, Quebec won for her composition Prayer of St. Francis.

2017/2018: Joannie Ing of Toronto, Ontario won for her composition The Good News Carol.

2018/2019: Russell Wilkinson of Edmonton, Alberta won for his composition There is No Rose.

2019/2020: Zachary Windus of Ancaster, Ontario won for his composition In Bethlehem upon that morn.

2020/2021: Alastair Boyd of Toronto, Ontario won for his composition Hymn on the Nativity

2021/2022: Benjamin Sigerson of Vancouver, B.C. (currently at McGill University in Montreal) won for his composition Of Rest.

2022/2023: Kai Leung of Toronto, Ontario won for his composition There Will Come Soft Rains

2023/2024: Justin Lapierre of Ottawa, Ontario won for his composition Lux Aeterna

 

 

Prize funding

The Debbie Fleming Prize for Choral Composition is supported by a $10,000 donation to the Choir’s Legacy Fund and restricted solely for the use of the TMChoir Choral Composition Competition.