The Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée is one of 13 Grand Prix awarded by the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal. It was established in 1959 and named after Calixa Lavallée, the composer of the national anthem, “O Canada.” It is awarded by a jury to a resident of Québec whose “accomplishment and distinction in the field of music have served or are serving the higher interests of the people of Québec, both in Québec and abroad.”
Originally awarded on an annual basis, the prize became triennial in 1993, although there have been some years when it has not been awarded. Recipients are given a cash prize of $3,000 by the Fondation du Prêt d'honneur and a brass medal inscribed with the phrase Bene merenti de patria (“well deserving of the country”).
A version of this entry originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.
Winners
1959 — Léopold Simoneau and Pierrette Alarie
1960 — Jacques Beaudry
1961 — Françoise Aubut-Pratte
1962 — Jean Papineau-Couture
1963 — Gilles Lefebvre
1964 — Victor Bouchard and Renée Morisset
1965 — Louis Quilico
1966 — Gilles Vigneault
1967 — Joseph Rouleau
1968 — Gilles Tremblay
1969 — Roger Matton
1970 — Clermont Pépin
1971 — Colette Boky
1972 — Claire Gagnier
1973 — Gaston Germain
1974 — Pauline Julien
1975 — Félix Leclerc
1976 — Jean Carignan
1977 — Lionel Daunais
1978 — not awarded
1979 — Monique Leyrac
1980 — Serge Garant
1981 — Kenneth Gilbert
1982 — Marie-Thérèse Paquin
1983 — Gilles Potvin
1984 — not awarded
1985 — Maryvonne Kendergi
1986 — not awarded
1987 — Yvonne Hubert
1988 — Jean Cousineau
1989 — Bernard Lagacé
1990 — Otto Joachim
1991 — Louise André
1992 — not awarded
1993 — Père Fernand Lindsay
1996 — Angèle Dubeau
2003 — Charles Biddle
2006 — not awarded
2009 — not awarded
2012 — Alain Lefèvre