UBC Music Students Linda Ruan (DMPS 2nd yr) received First Prize and Hamilton Lau (BMus’24, MMus 1st yr) received Second Prize, at the 48th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, announced on Sunday, April 27.
Linda Ruan also won Best Performance of the Commissioned Work where poppies still bloom and fall by Rita Ueda. She received a cash award of $6,000 and will embark on a cross-Canada tour in October and November 2025.
“The process of preparing for the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition pushed me far beyond my comfort zone. It completely shattered and redefined what I thought were my limits and capabilities as a musician and an artist...And my most sincere thanks to Rita Ueda for her beautifully profound piece which allowed me to discover a part of myself that I didn’t know existed – yet, it felt so true to the core of who I am. I’m thankful beyond words for this transformative experience and I look forward to connecting to communities across Canada through music!”
The jurors for this year’s competition were Louise Bessette, Eve Egoyan and Timothy Steeves. The jury chair was Director of the Canadian Music Centre, Prairie Region, and UBC Music Alumna Janna Sailor (MMus ‘08, DMPS ‘12).
Both Linda and Hamilton study with Professor Corey Hamm.
Watch Linda’s and Hamilton’s performances below.
Linda’s Program
Mirage (1997, rev 2022) by Elisenda Fabregas (b. 1955)
where poppies still bloom and fall (2024) by Rita Ueda (b. 1963)
1.Voices in the Wind
2.Lark
3.Phoenix
4.Dove (Dona Nobis Pacem)
Glass Houses No.5 (1981, rev. 2010) by Ann Southam (1937-2010)
Murmuration (2016) by Keiko Devaux (b. 1982)
Supervillain Etudes, Volume 2 (2021) by Vincent Ho (b. 1975)
VI. J6ker
Aeon (2012) by Alice Ping Yee Ho (b. 1960)
1.Melting Clock
2.Rapid Meditation
Linda’s prize-winning performance starts at 36:45.
Hamilton’s Program
The Poetry of Squares (2010) by Dinuk Wijeratne (b. 1978)
Ambrosiana (2017, rev. 2019) by Kati Agócs (b.1975)
Hosu (1986, rev. 2015) by Howard Bashaw (b. 1957)
I. The Mountain
II. The Lake
III. The Waterfall
Supervillain Etude (2021) by Vincent Ho (b. 1975)
No. 1 “R1ddler”
Hammerklavier (1994) by Moritz Eggert (b.1965)
III. One Man Band
where poppies still bloom and fall (2024) by Rita Ueda (b. 1963)
1.Voices in the Wind
2.Lark
3.Phoenix
4.Dove (Dona Nobis Pacem)
North American Ballad (1979) by Frederic Rzewski (1938-2021)
IV. “Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues”.
Etude pour piano: Book 2 (1994) by György Ligeti (1923-2006)
No. 11 “En suspens”
Etude pour piano: Book 1 (1985) by György Ligeti (1923-2006)
No. 6 “Autumne à Varsovie”
Hamilton’s prize-winning performance starts at 1:27:54.
The Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition
The Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition for the performance of Canadian and contemporary music is a memorial to composer, pianist, and violinist S.C. (Sonia) Eckhardt-Gramatté, who spent the last twenty-one years of her life in Manitoba. It fulfills her lifelong dream of creating a means by which the music of contemporary composers could make its presence felt by young musicians on the threshold of their careers. The E-Gré National Music Competition has been held annually since 1976 at Brandon University.
