Maxime McKinley, a young Montreal composer born in 1979, is the winner of the first-ever Père Fernand Lindsay Composition Award, it was announced on June 13 in Montreal at a media conference unveiling the winners of the 98th annual Prix d’Europe competition. The $10,000 prize, which will be presented every two years, was named after the founder of Canada’s largest classical music event, Festival de Lanaudière, who died this past March.

Maxime McKinley studied composition with Michel Gonneville at the Quebec Conservatory of Music in Montreal, where he graduated with the Prix avec Grande Distinction in 2004. He also studied composition with Isabelle Panneton at the University of Montreal, where he received a Doctorate in 2009. A five-time winner of the SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers between 2003 and 2007, he won a commission prize in the University of Montreal Orchestra (OUM) competition in 2005, and the TSYO Canadian Composer’s Competition in 2006. McKinley has received composition commissions from numerous ensembles and organizations, and his music has been performed at many festivals.