Rebecca Hennessy Wins the 2018 Emerging Jazz Artist Award

Toronto Arts Foundation is pleased to announce that Rebecca Hennessy is the recipient of the 2018 Emerging Jazz Artist Award, a $10,000 cash prize.

TORONTO, June 25, 2018Toronto Arts Foundation is pleased to announce that Rebecca Hennessy is the recipient of the 2018 Emerging Jazz Artist Award, a $10,000 cash prize. The award was first established in 2014 through the generous donation of Cheryl and Manuel Buchwald, and is intended to support the pre-production, production, and/or recording of original music composed by the recipient.

Rebecca Hennessy is a highly sought-after Toronto-based trumpeter, composer and bandleader. As a leader and co-leader, Rebecca has released eight albums and has toured Mexico, Panama, Sri Lanka, Europe, USA and in Canada. In 2016, her FOG Brass Band was nominated for both the Montreal Jazz Festival’s Grand Prix de Jazz and the Halifax Jazz Festival’s Stingray Rising Star Award. Her most recent CD, Two Calls was rated best Canadian jazz albums of 2017 by Ottawa Citizen.

Hennessy was selected by a peer jury, who commended her for her creative, authentic and quirky compositions, noting that there is a lot of depth and personality to her work. She is an excellent trumpet player, they said; “She has a confidence and comfort level that not a lot of other emerging jazz artists have.”

The award presentation took place this past weekend, Saturday June 23 at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival on the OLG Stage. Following the recipient announcement, audiences enjoyed a free concert by last year’s Emerging Jazz Artist Award recipient, Larnell Lewis.

“Through Cheryl and Manuel Buchwald’s generous gift, Toronto Arts Foundation is pleased to be able to shine a spotlight on the next generation of talented artists,” said Claire Hopkinson, Director & CEO, Toronto Arts Foundation. “Congratulations to this year’s finalists, all extraordinary young artists, whose musicianship and creative exploration of jazz adds so much to our communities and to our city.”

Finalists Ethan Ardelli and Matt Woroshyl received awards of $1,000 each.

The peer jury, facilitated by Christy DiFelice, Music Officer at Toronto Arts Council, included celebrated jazz artists and cultural leaders: Molly Johnson, Josh Grossman, Colleen Allen and Hilario Duran.

 

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ABOUT
Toronto Arts Foundation is a charitable organization that sparks creative connections, spotlights artistic excellence, and supports vibrant cultural growth throughout our diverse city, through private sector investment. 

CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information about the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award, please contact: Sarah Gladki, Communications Manager at sarah@torontoarts.org or 416-392-6802x217