(Claude Lapalme)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

félicitations!

RDSO conductor and cellist part of Juno-winning Classical album

Mar 14, 2023 | 12:57 PM

Red Deer picked up a big Juno award win this weekend.

Claude Lapalme, his wife Janet Kuschak, and several other members of Lapalme’s group Rosa Barocca, won with soloist Elinor Frey for Early Italian Cello Concertos — nominated in the category of Classical Album of the Year: Small Ensemble.

Lapalme, conductor, and Kuschak, a cellist, both also prominent members of the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra (RDSO), were in attendance for night one of the Junos, which aired on CBC Gem and YouTube.

For Lapalme and crew, the winning, and even joining the album’s production in the first place, was unexpected.

“Elinor, who is from Montreal, picked us when she could’ve picked any superstar,” says Lapalme. “We had played with her in 2019 after inviting her to do a concert here in Red Deer. We hit it off and the concert was good, so when it was time to decide which orchestra to use for her album, she picked us up.”

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He adds that when they finished up in the studio, they knew it was good, and that there’d be a chance for Juno nomination.

“We really thought that it was indeed a possibility,” Lapalme continues. “That said, we were still almost shocked when we did. The field may seem a bit niche, but it’s actually highly competitive. It’s also a very distinguished list of people who’ve won this award and were nominated.”

Also nominated in the category this year were:

Nagamo – MUSICA INTIMA, ANDREW BALFOUR
Hemsi, Chamber Works – ARC ENSEMBLE
Vagues et ombres – COLLECTIF9
De la cour de Louis XIV à Shippagan! Chants traditionnels acadiens et airs de cour du XVIIe siècle – SUZIE LEBLANC, MARIE NADEAU-TREMBLAY, VINCENT LAUZER, SYLVAIN BERGERON

For Lapalme, who jokes he’s no longer in his youth, the recognition is about having paid dues.

“This shows you can take your time in music and explore a lot of areas. I’ve done a lot of orchestration, arranging, I have great interest in folk music, and longstanding interest in early music — all disciplines which had fed into one another,” he explains.

“You may not get your first Juno at 25, but it can eventually be a culmination of doing a lot of things. For my group, Rosa Barocca, it means we can think more about a season of concerts, instead of solely doing collaborative projects.”

Lapalme says Frey and Rosa Barocca are planning something of a tour with shows around Alberta to celebrate the album.

Lapalme recalls he got up to the stage after their names were called, and began thanking folks.

“I didn’t forget anyone,” he says. “But after about 30 seconds, the music started playing.”

You can listen to the winning album here.

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