Winnipeg-born cellist wins prestigious $25K prize for young classical musicians
![David Liam Roberts Cellist David Liam Roberts won this year’s Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures First Prize at a virtual ceremony Wednesday. (Source: Simeon Rusnak Photography)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2021/8/19/david-liam-roberts-1-5553909-1629405930958.jpeg)
A 21-year-old Winnipegger is the proud recipient of this year’s Canada Council for the Arts Michael Measures First Prize, a prestigious award for young Canadian classical music performers.
Cellist David Liam Roberts was named the first prize winner of $25,000 at a virtual ceremony Wednesday. To be eligible, entrants must be music performers between 16 and 24 years old who are enrolled in a summer training program with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada.
“I’ve been gunning for this award for a few years,” Roberts told CTV News.
His resume tells a similar tale; Roberts was the 2020 recipient of the Michael Measures Second Prize, the 2019 winner of the Gail Asper Foundation Award of Excellence and the 2018 recipient of the WMC McLellan Competition second prize.
“Obviously, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada has a reputation of being a great training program for orchestral musicians,” he said. “It really is an honour.”
Roberts, who is Métis, was able to continue performing in a mix of taped and in-person performances this summer, including in Italy, Slovenia and to hometown audiences with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra alongside his former teacher, principal cellist Yuri Hooker.
“One of my goals in the next few years is really just building my profile internationally. My summer was my first set in that direction,” he said.
Next up -- Roberts is about to enter his final year at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. The prize money will come in handy as he opens the next chapter of his professional career.
“I’m going to use it definitely for my career development and my studies in the next few years,” he said. “I’m planning to do graduate studies either in the States or Europe, so obviously just travelling, auditioning, studying - all these things that are stepping stones that all cost a lot of money, and it’s prohibitive. So for me, this award makes a lot of my dreams and goals a lot more possible.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6946231.1719664723!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
WestJet cancels at least 150 flights following mechanics union strike
WestJet says it's cancelled at least 150 flights beginning Saturday after the union maintaining the airline's planes announced it went on strike hours earlier.
The small French town where Newfoundlanders were heroes
It was a battle ripped from the pages of a storybook: Ten soldiers held off hundreds of German troops to save a small French village in the First World War.
Tenants in 16-floor apartment building in Ottawa's west-end served eviction notices
More than 100 people in Ottawa's west-end are in the process of receiving eviction notices to vacate their 50-year-old apartment building for renovations.
opinion Practical tips for seniors who want to supplement their retirement income
Are you retired and looking for some ideas to help make some extra money? Personal finance contributor Christopher Liew has some tips to help you earn some income in your golden years.
'We need new leadership': Liberal MP writes to caucus, says Justin Trudeau should resign
A sitting Liberal MP has written to the federal caucus to say he thinks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should resign. 'For the future of our party and for the good of our country we need new leadership and a new direction,' said New Brunswick MP Wayne Long in the brief note.
'A big blowout in the square': Canada Day celebrations beyond the country's borders
As Canadians celebrate the country's 157th birthday this weekend, one of the biggest parties will take place across the Atlantic Ocean.
As fall elections loom, are fears for the state of democracy in Canada justified?
Is Canada's democracy truly under threat? Political scientists say while Canadian politics and institutions are facing a myriad of concerns, the situation isn't dire overall.
Driver charged with DUI for New York nail salon crash that killed 4 and injured 9
A minivan slammed into a Long Island nail salon Friday, killing four people and injuring 9, a Suffolk County fire official said.
Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan to become first woman to lead Canadian Armed Forces
Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan will be named Canada's new Chief of the Defence Staff, CTV News has learned, making her the first woman to lead the Canadian Armed Forces.