Media Releases and Opportunities

Thursday, February 8, 2024 (Halifax, Nova Scotia) – Dalhousie University is thrilled to congratulate Dr. Jérôme Blais and Amy Brandon on receiving Juno Award nominations by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).

“It’s so exciting to see Fountain School of Performing Arts Director, Dr. Jérôme Blais, and instructor, Amy Brandon, nominated for Juno Awards,” says Dr. Kim Brooks, Dalhousie University resident and Vice-Chancellor. “Having two members of the Fountain School community nominated is a testament to the calibre of the talent there, and it’s an amazing source of inspiration for our students. We’ll all be rooting for Jérôme and Amy on Juno night.”

“We are so incredibly proud of our Fountain School of Performing Arts colleagues, Jerome Blais and Amy Brandon, whose contributions to composition and the performing arts in Canada are being recognized with Juno nominations,” says Dr. Jennifer Andrews, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. “These amazing composers, who work with Dalhousie students every day, demonstrate the national and global power of music-creation. We wish them the best of luck at the upcoming Juno show in Halifax.”

Dr. Jérôme Blais, director, and associate professor in the Fountain School of Performing Arts, has been nominated for his work collaborating with Suzie LeBlanc on the Classical Album, mouvance, which has been nominated for Classical Album of he Year (solo artist).
Dr. Blais' works, which feature a unique encounter between traditional composition and improvisation, have been performed by several individuals and ensembles, among which the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ), Janice Jackson, Symphony Nova Scotia, Ensemble contemporain de Montréal, Rosa Ensemble of Amsterdam, Quasar Saxophone Quartet, Bozzini String Quartet, Bradyworks, Array Music, Continuum, Upstream, suddenlyLISTEN, Motion Ensemble.

Composition faculty in the Fountain School of Performing Arts, Amy Brandon, has been nominated for Classical Composition of the Year for Simulacra - a piece recorded with Symphony Nova Scotia and cellist Jeffrey Zeigler.

Her performances, installations and acoustic works have been presented at the Gaudeamus Festival (Screen Dive), National Sawdust (NYC), Trinity College (Dublin), the mise-en Festival, and the Winnipeg New Music Festival. She has received Canadian and international composition awards including the Leo Brouwer Guitar Composition Competition (Grand Prize 2019) and a JACK Quartet Studio Artist commission.

If you would like to set up an interview with Dr. Blais or Amy Brandon to discuss their exciting new accolades and their works, please reach out to the media contact below.

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Media Contact:
Lindsay Dowling-Savelle
Media Relations Manager
Dalhousie University
Cell: (902) 222-8810
lindsay.savelle@dal.ca