Toronto, June 30, 2026 – Composers Corey Butler and Ted Runcie are the recipients of the Kathleen McMorrow Music Award. This $10,000 award recognizes the composition and presentation of contemporary classical music by Ontario composers and is given annually to two applicants of the Ontario Arts Council Music Creation Projects program.
Corey Butler is being awarded for his composition of four original pieces for chamber orchestra and The Nathaniel Dett Chorale. The lyrics and music are inspired by and rooted in the folk foundations of Nathanial Dett. The completed work is scheduled to premiere in October 2027, at the Rose Theatre in Brampton.
Ted Runcie is receiving his award for a commissioned project for orchestra. It was commissioned by the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, and conductor Ronald Royer. The project had its world premiere in November 2025 at the Salvation Army Scarborough Citadel.
About Corey Butler
Corey Butler is a Canadian professional musician, producer, and composer with a career spanning over 20 years. As an artistic and musical director, his compositional work focuses on curating unique “edutainment” experiences, such as concert performances structured to enlighten, educate, and foster crucial ideals of love, equity, and diversity.
Throughout his career, Butler has utilized his creative expertise to compose, arrange, and accompany projects for some of the modern era’s finest vocalists and musicians. This includes collaborating with Canada’s incomparable Jackie Richardson and the legendary gospel artist Carvin Winans, a member of the Grammy-winning quartet The Winans.
Beyond his studio and stage compositions, Butler is the Founder and Executive Director of Zamar Music Inc. He has also served as a music professor at York University since 2008, shaping the next generation of creative talents.
About Ted Runcie
Ted Runcie is a Jamaican-born Canadian composer and conductor raised in Scarborough. A graduate of McGill University, he studied conducting with Timothy Vernon, composition with John Rea and Denys Bouliane, and voice with Bill Neill and Winston Purdy. He later continued composition studies with Christian Wolff and Chan Ka Nin, and conducting with Professor Jorma Panula of Finland’s Sibelius Academy.
Runcie spent much of his professional career in Taiwan, where he taught, composed, and served as Music Director of the Hsinchu Philharmonic Orchestra and Hsinchu Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
His Jamaican Quartets were recorded by Toronto’s Odin Quartet in 2022. Recent works include Concertino for Cello and Orchestra, Where Shadow Chases Light, Anansi’s Odyssey, and Laurentian Overture: The Land of Hochelaga. Since 2023, he has served as Composer-in-Residence of the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra.
About the Award
The Kathleen McMorrow Music Award was established in 2015. Kathleen McMorrow headed the Music Library at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music from 1974 to 2013. She established the award to recognize and encourage the composition and presentation of Canadian contemporary classical music. Beginning in 2024, the award is given to two composers annually.
The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the award. The Ontario Arts Council is responsible for the selection process. The award recipients are selected from the applicants to the two Ontario Arts Council Music Creation Projects program application deadlines.
Previous award winners include Rashaan Allwood and Kalaisan Kalaichelvan (2024), Suba Sankaran (2023), and Afarin Mansouri (2022). See the full list of previous recipients.
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For information, please contact:
Bruce Bennett, Executive Director, Ontario Arts Foundation
Tel: (416) 969-7413 bbennett@oafdn.ca
Established in 1991, the Ontario Arts Foundation (OAF) is passionately committed to building long-term support for the arts in Ontario. In 2025-2026, the OAF paid over $5.7 million in endowment income and $630,000 in awards and grants.
For 60 years, the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts for the enjoyment and benefit of Ontarians. The OAC reached 27.4 million people through events and arts education activities across the province in 2021-22. In 2023-2024, OAC invested its grants program budget of $53.3 million in 219 communities across all 124 Ontario ridings, providing 2,149 grants to individual artists and 1,043 grants to organizations.
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