Alumnus Wins JUNO Composition Award

RNCM alumnus Dinuk Wijeratne has won the JUNO Classical Composition of the Year Award for his string quartet pieces Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems.

The Sri Lankan-born composer, who graduated in 2000 and now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was one of over 40 winners at this year’s ceremony, sitting alongside Adele (International Artist of the Year), The Weekend (Single of the Year and Album of the Year), and Justin Bieber (Pop Album of the Year).

During the star-studded ceremony, held in Calgary last month, Dinuk joked that this was the ‘closest I’ve ever been to a heavy metal band’. During his acceptance speech, he added: ‘For a classical composer you wouldn’t be able to win an award like this if it wasn’t for the fantastic musicians who bring your music off the page, so let’s hear it one more time for the incredible Afiara String Quartet. Amazing people and amazing musicians.’

Presented annually by The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), The JUNO Awards is Canada’s premier awards show and the Canadian music industry’s most prestigious recognition for excellence in recorded music.

Founded as The Gold Leaf Awards in 1970, JUNO has grown from a one-night industry event held in Toronto, ON, to a national weeklong music celebration hosted in a different city each year. Since the first broadcast in 1975, more than 155 million Canadians have tuned in to celebrate the country’s musical achievements in 41 categories, representing multiple genres.

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11 May 2016