Laura Risk wins Opus Prize for Album of the Year

Laura Risk, assistant professor in the music and culture program in the University of Toronto Scarborough’s department of arts, culture and media, has won the Opus Prize for Album of the Year in the category of World music and traditional Québécois music.

The Opus Awards were created by the Quebec Council of Music in 1996 to celebrate exceptional concert music and musicians across Quebec.

Risk was honoured for her latest album, Traverse, which was praised for its nuance, sensitivity and technical precision. She combined her experience as a fiddler and researcher to create this 10-track exploration of traditional fiddle music, which draws on her extensive studies of traditional music from both Quebec and Scotland.

"With this album, I hoped to capture something of the way that traditional music brings us together across time and place," Risk said.

Listen to Laura Risk's new album on her website