TSM Alumnus Appointed 2026 AMP Laureates
Congratulations to TSM Alumnus Nicholas Denton-Protsack (Chamber Music Institute ’16, ’17) on being appointed as one of the Azrieli Music Prize Winners, taking home the Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music.
The Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP) offer opportunities for the discovery, creation, performance and celebration of excellence in music composition. The four prize packages—valued at $200,000 CAD per laureate—make AMP the top competition for music composition in Canada and one of the largest in the world.
Nicholas Denton Protsack is a New Zealand–based Canadian composer and cellist who seeks to create new connections between music and the natural world. Described by the Canadian Music Centre as a “composer to keep a close eye on,” his ecologically inspired works often blend notated and recorded media with experimental improvisation. His music has been performed internationally in a range of concert settings, including frequent performances across North America, Europe and New Zealand.
In 2025, Denton Protsack was named the SOCAN Emerging Composer-in-Residence with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. He has also been a recipient of a BMI Foundation Student Composer Award and multiple SOCAN Young Composer Awards. Recent commissions include works for Stroma (New Zealand), the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, the Toronto Summer Music Festival and Ensemble for These Times (E4TT), winners of The American Prize.