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University of Toronto musicians – from faculty to alumni – who are breaking new ground across a range of genres have racked up 11 Juno nominations this year.

Their nominations appear in major categories such as “Album of the Year,” “Single of the Year” and specialized categories such as Alternative, Classical, World and Jazz.

“The Rex Hotel Orchestra is my dream team, made up of players I consider to be the perfect choice for each position,” said U of T jazz faculty member John MacLeod, leader of John MacLeod & His Rex Hotel Orchestra. The group received a nomination for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year with Our Second Set.

“We don't need to win awards for me to be proud of these guys, I feel that way every time I hear them play.”

MacLeod’s ensemble comprises several jazz faculty and alumni including Terry Promane, Mike Murley, David Braid and more (Full list of U of T nominees follows below); the majority of members of Carn Davidson 9, nominated for the Traditional Jazz Album of the Year, are also U of T faculty and alumni, including William Carn, Tara Davidson and Kelly Jefferson.

Rounding out the category is faculty member and alumna Sienna Dahlen’s nomination for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year with collaborator Mike Rud for Notes on Montreal, a musical rendering of the works of Mordecai Richler, Michel Tremblay, Gabrielle Roy and others.

“I feel very blessed to live in a city where there is such an amazing pool of jazz talent, thanks in no small measure to enlightened jazz programs like that at U of T,” said MacLeod.

Several of the ‘big ticket’ nominations, including Album of the Year, Single of the Year, and Alternative Album of the Year, were announced for Arcade Fire, which includes U of T Music composition alumnus and current Oscar nominee Owen Pallett.

“Owen's innovative cross-over from classical training to indie performance to film composition reflects an important directional trend showing where music studies are taking our creative entrepreneurial graduates,” said Don McLean, dean of the Faculty of Music, upon news of Pallett’s Academy Award nomination.

"Owen was an extraordinary student with a remarkable background," said Gary Kulesha, an award-winning composer and one of Pallett's teachers at U of T. "His interests ranged everywhere. He was talented and focused, and never failed to challenge ideas if he had questions.”

“I am not at all surprised he has done well."

U of T’s Classical artists were also recognized widely with Juno nominations. Composer Serouj Kradjian and soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, both alumni, were nominated for Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance with Ravel, Sayat-Nova & Kradjian: Troubadour & the Nightingale.

Composer Norbert Palej, Music faculty and coordinator of the U of T New Music Festival, was nominated for Classical Album of the Year alongside alumna and soprano Shannon Mercer and others for the Group of 27’s recording Berlioz: Les nuits d'été – Palej: The Poet & the War, Rorate Coeli.

"What an honour to receive this nomination!” said Palej. “Congratulations to the fantastic Shannon Mercer, Eric Paetkau and the Group of 27 on this accolade for their beautiful performances of my music."

Bassoon faculty Nadina Mackie Jackson was recognized as part of the Group of 27’s recording of the Canadian Concerto Project, which was nominated for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist with Large Ensemble Accompaniment.

Also nominated in this category was Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, U of T’s Baroque Orchestra in Residence. Tafelmusik was nominated for the album House of Dreams, accompanied in live performance with an innovative multimedia production of the same name.

Alumni Mike Romaniak, Karl Silveira and Rob Teehan, members of the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, were nominated with the group’s album Lume, Lume for World Music Album of the Year.

The 2014 Juno Awards broadcast will air Sunday, March 30 on CTV from Winnipeg’s MTS Centre. 

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