SOCAN was well represented at the 5th annual Trille Or Awards celebrating excellence in the Franco-Ontarian music industry, held on March 19, 2009, in Ottawa. This year’s SOCAN-sponsored Trille Or Songwriter par Excellence Award was presented to Tricia Foster, who also received prizes for Best Album Cover and, with Shawn Sasyniuk, for Best Record Producer/Arranger. The cheerful artist collected her awards with witty acceptance speeches that delighted the Cité Collégiale audience.

Damien Robitaille was the evening’s top winner, with prizes for Best Male Singer, Best Show and Best Music Video, as well as the Radio-Canada Best Song Award.

A special tribute was presented to the singer-songwriter, musician, actor and former CANO member Marcel Aymar. The group’s ex-members were reunited on the stage to perform some classics from their repertoire, and stage director Jean-Marc Dalpé shared warm memories of his collaborations with his old friend and colleague.

The show featured a number of live performances, including one by Swing that so impressed the evening’s host, Rebecca Makonnen, that she invited the group to appear on her Studio 12 Radio-Canada television program right on the spot. Following an off-the-air ceremony, the televised show was broadcast live outside Quebec and picked up for broadcasting on Radio-Canada’s Première Chaîne (Radio One) the following day. The Trille Or Awards were a co-production of Association des professionnels de la chanson et de la musique (APCM) and Société Radio-Canada.

SOCAN was represented by its president, Pierre-Daniel Rheault, and by the Quebec region member services manager Joanne Pouliot.