SOCAN member and eminent Quebec composer Denis Gougeon has won the $25,000 First Prize of the Presences Festival International Composition Competition in Shanghai, China, for TOY (Music Box), a work for two bamboo flutes and orchestra.

The final concert in the competition, which was orchestrated by Radio France and the Shanghai Media Group, was held May 4 in the 2010 Universal Exposition’s host city. Second and third prizes were presented to the French composer Krystof Maratka and the Danish composer Simon Steen-Andersen, respectively.

Gougeon, who also teaches music, adds this international recognition to an impressive list of awards, including the 2000 Opus Prize for Composer of the Year. His catalogue of more than 150 compositions includes six orchestral works, an opera, a ballet, various chamber music pieces, vocal music and works for solo instruments.