Vancouver artists nominated for 2023 Juno Awards include Suzie LeBlanc, Ruby Singh

Among the other local nominees are musica intima, Hard Rubber Orchestra, and Dan Mangan

By Gail johnson

Ruby Singh.

Suzie LeBlanc. Photo by Pierre Etienne Bergeron

THE NOMINEES FOR the 2023 Juno Awards have been announced.

Soprano Suzie LeBlanc, artistic director of Early Music Vancouver, is part of a group of artists nominated in the Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble) category for De la cour de Louis XIV à Shippagan! Chants traditionnels acadiens et airs de cour du XVIIe siècle. Joining LeBlanc are Marie Nadeau-Tremblay, Vincent Lauzer, and Sylvain Bergeron. This is LeBlanc’s fifth Juno nomination.

Musica intima also earned a nomination in Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble) for Nagamo, by Indigenous composer Andrew Balfour. This spring, Balour and the ensemble are launching a cross-Canada tour to work with youth choirs on the process of collaboration and the decolonizing of choral music. It’s the first Juno nomination for Balfour and the third for musica intima.

Vox.Infold, the latest release from local interdisciplinary artist and facilitator Ruby Singh, is a nominee in the category for Global Music Album of the Year. The a cappella offering, which was composed and recorded during the pandemic, features Indigenous, Inuit, Black, and South Asian voices, including Singh’s and those of soul singer Dawn Pemberton, PIQSIQ’s Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik, Russell Wallace, Tiffany Moses, and Shamik Bilgi. The honour marks Singh’s first Juno nomination.

The Ostara Project, spearheaded by local jazz bassist Jodi Proznick and B.C.-raised Amanda Tosoff of Music Arts Collective, was nominated in the Vocal Jazz Album of the Year category for The Ostara Project. The project itself showcases the strength, creativity, and diversity of Canadian women in jazz.

Hard Rubber Orchestra was named a finalist in the Instrumental Album of the Year category for Iguana. Founded in 1990 by John Korsrud, the 18-piece creative-music ensemble has been nominated once before.

The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer is a contender in the Blues Album of the Year category for Live at the King Eddy, the duo’s first Juno nomination. The release features contributions from Dawn Pemberton.

Pianist-composer Renee Rosnes received a nomination for Kinds of Love in the Solo Jazz Album of the Year category.

Among the other local artists to be honoured with a nomination are Dan Mangan, for Being Somewhere in the Adult Alternative Album of the Year category; and Michael Bublé for Artist of the Year.

The complete list of nominees can be found here.

Winners will be announced at Rogers Place in Edmonton on March 13. 

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