Meet the recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation – Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting
November 27, 2024
The Hnatyshyn Foundation is proud to announce that Matthew Boutda has been selected as the 2024 recipient of our Fellowship in Conducting.
This $18,000 fellowship is awarded annually to a graduate conducting student at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, in partnership with the Decker family. It was established in 2018 to honour the legacy of the late Maestro Franz-Paul Decker and his wife Christa, and to support and celebrate the next generation of exceptional Canadian conductors.
About Matthew Boutda
Featured on CBC’s list of “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30,” Matthew Boutda is a Lao-Canadian conductor, tenor, and organist in pursuit of his Doctor of Music in Choral Conducting at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Jean-Sébastien Vallée.
Matthew is a Course Lecturer and Conductor of the McGill University Chorus. He is also the Director of Music at Leaside United Church in Toronto, where he conducts the Chancel Choir. He serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada.
As a conductor, Matthew has worked with choirs such as the Elmer Iseler Singers, Ontario Youth Choir, National Youth Choir of Canada, Pax Christi Chorale, Schulich Singers, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Vancouver Chamber Choir, and the Western University Singers.
Matthew holds a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Sacred Music from the University of Toronto, and an Associate Diploma in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. In addition to our Fellowship, Matthew is a recent recipient of the Clifford Evens Graduate Conducting Award, Gerald Wheeler Award, Helen Hall Prize, and Wayne Riddell Choral Award.
Photo: Danielle Sum
What this award means to Matthew
“Beyond the practical support, this fellowship affirms the importance of music in Canadian culture and reinforces the belief that conducting, as a powerful and transformative art form, is worth nurturing and celebrating.”
“I am immensely grateful to the Hnatyshyn Foundation for this remarkable vote of confidence in my potential. This fellowship strengthens my resolve to contribute meaningfully to the world of conducting, and I am deeply inspired to carry forward the spirit of this award in everything I do. Thank you for helping me realize my dreams and for making a lasting impact on the future of Canadian music and conductors.”
Photo: Toronto Mendelssohn Choir
Jury
The Hnatyshyn Foundation thanks the Schulich School of Music for selecting the recipients of this fellowship. This year’s selection committee was composed of Stéphane Lemelin (Professor, Performance Department Chair), Jean-Sébastien Vallée (Professor, Area Coordinator of Conducting, Director of Choral Studies), and Lisa Barg (Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, Associate Professor).
We sincerely congratulate Matthew for this achievement and look forward to following his career!
To learn more about the Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting and its previous laureates, visit: Past recipients
We sincerely thank our donors for their continued support, and artists for providing constant inspiration.
