The George Proctor Prize of $500 is awarded annually for an outstanding paper presented in French or English by a graduate student at the annual conference of the Canadian University Music Society (MusCan). The 2023 MusCan conference will be hosted in hybrid format by the Faculté de musique at l’Université Laval in Quebec City from May 17 to 21, 2023. The prize-winning paper will demonstrate original research in any recognized branch of musical scholarship and may be presented in either official language. The jury reserves the right to withhold the award if, in its judgment, there are no suitable submissions.

Eligibility: The competition is open to anyone who, at the time of submission of the abstract, is registered in a graduate degree program, does not yet hold a doctorate, and does not hold a full-time teaching position. Previous winners of the George Proctor Prize (or of the SOCAN Foundation/George Proctor Prize), are ineligible to compete. A paper also submitted to the 2023 SOCAN Foundation/MusCan Awards for Writings on Canadian Music is eligible to compete in the semi-final round of the George Proctor Prize, provided the author has previously fulfilled all the conditions for conference proposal submission, and the paper has been accepted to be read at the conference.

All presenters must be current members of MusCan before their submissions can be accepted for inclusion into the program.  They must also register for the MusCan 2023 conference. Annual dues for MusCan membership in 2023 are $50 for students. For more information on MusCan membership benefits, to pay membership dues online, and for the “Official Rules for the George Proctor Prize,” consult www.muscan.org.

Students whose proposals are accepted for the conference will be informed by March 18, 2023. All eligible students whose proposals are accepted to the conference may submit their paper to the semi-final round. In addition to complying with all subsequent deadlines for other presenters, students who wish to compete for the George Proctor Prize must submit via email an electronic copy of their paper (with the scholarly apparatus), and of any hand-out, exactly* as they will be presented at the conference online to vp@muscan.org. The e-mail should include the author’s (i) full name, (ii) full postal address, (iii) name and level of degree program, (iv) institutional affiliation and (v) e-mail address.

*Note: minor edits are acceptable, at the discretion of the final jury.

Deadline for submissions: April 21, 2023, 11:59pm ET

A preliminary jury will select the finalists (normally up to four), from which a winner will be chosen at the conference. In selecting the finalists, the preliminary jury will consider the originality, methodology, theoretical framework, clarity of argument, structure, and writing style of the submissions.  In determining the winner, the final jury will consider all of the above, plus the presentation and the ability to handle questions from the audience. The preliminary and final juries will be confirmed after all George Proctor Prize submissions are received, to ensure that all jurors are at arm’s length from the applicants.

For more information, contact the chair of the George Proctor Prize Committee, Stephen Runge, at vp@muscan.org.

Administration and funding of the George Proctor Prize is provided by the Canadian University Music Society.