From left to right.
Back row: Shinomasa Mori (CMC 1st Piano Prize 2026, 15–18 Age
Category), Pierre Cabana (CMC Board President), Carmen Picard (CMC Executive
Director), Marc David (CMC Artistic Director).
Front row: Angela Yixuen Miao (CMC 1st
Piano Prize 2023, 7–10 Age Category), Maya Liu (CMC Grand Prize 2026, 7–10 Age
Category), and Josh Chong (CMC Grand Prize 2026, 19–25 Age Category).

On August 9, the CMC’s 2026 Gala Concert took place. It was recorded as part of a new radio program titled Jeune comme le monde (“Young Like the World”), which will air this fall on ICI Musique Classique. A huge thank you to producer Guylaine Picard!

We had the chance to enjoy superb performances given by several of our past winners, including soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais (CMC Grand Prize 2022, 19–25 Age Category), accompanied by Louise Pelletier.

We also heard three young Montreal pianists: Maya Liu (CMC Grand Prize 2026, 7–10 Age Category Shinomasa Mori (CMC 1st Piano Prize 2026, 15–18 Age Category), and Angela Yixuen Miao (CMC 1st Piano Prize 2023, 7–10 Age Category).

The 2026 CMC Grand Prize (19–25 Age Category) was awarded to Toronto flutist Josh Chong. Accompanied by pianist Tristan Longval-Gagné, he performed a new work titled Serenity for flute and piano, composed by Christos Hatzis, a professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. A breathtaking performance and a world premiere!

Finally, we would like to thank Maxime Séguin (Piano Vertu) for the magnificent Shigeru Kawai piano prepared for our concert. The audience was captivated by the beauty of the sound and the outstanding quality of every performance.