Toronto, May 26, 2025 – Jazz pianist Marilyn Lerner is this year’s recipient of the $50,000 Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award. This year’s award recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of keyboard artistry. Lerner will be presented the award on June 1st at the Jazz Bistro where she will be performing with long-time friend and colleague, the multi-award-winning flautist/saxophonist Jane Bunnett. The event is part of JazzInToronto’s Community Celebration, which is presented in partnership with the City of Toronto’s Music Office.
About Marilyn Lerner
Classically trained pianist composer Marilyn Lerner’s work spans the worlds of Jazz, Creative Improvisation, and Klezmer. The breadth of her work is astonishing, though always framed by her unique voice, always utterly recognizable. Her passion, curiosity and commitment to experimentation account for decades of creative output.
Along with her innovative solo piano work, Lerner has toured extensively as part of the Queen Mab Trio (with Lori Freedman, Ig Henneman) and the Ig Henneman Sextet across Canada, the USA, and Europe. Ongoing projects and ensembles include jazz/improvising groups Ugly Beauties (with Matt Brubeck and Nick Fraser), improvising ensemble KLM (with Lou Grassi, Ken Filiano), and Brass Knuckle Sandwich (with Nicole Rampersaud).
A prolific recording artist, highlights include Special Angel with Sonny Greenwich, Birds Are Returning, Marilyn Lerner in Cuba, with Jane Bunnett and Dafnis Prieto, Contents Might Shift with Ugly Beauties, KLM Live at Edgefest, and Réunion with the Queen Mab trio. In 2023 she appeared on Frank London’s Spirit Stronger Than Blood, which was named one of the top jazz albums of 2024 by the New York Times. In December 2024 she released the Anna Margolin song cycle All Silent Things Speak Today, a collaboration with her partner, the late Adrienne Cooper.
Lerner accompanies silent film in Toronto for Silent Revue, the Toronto Silent Film Festival and TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Jury Comments
The jury was unanimous in their choice of Marilyn as laureate for the Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award. They said: “Marilyn’s ability to utterly surrender to the moment without needing to challenge, and to be fully present with what is happening around her music made her the most compelling choice. There is a clarity of intention in all of her projects. Her actualization of sound is complete. Marilyn’s mastery of her practice inspires us to be better.”
Marilyn Lerner was selected by a jury comprised of David Braid (Toronto), jazz keyboard performer, composer and improvisor, and the 2016 Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award laureate; Sienna Dahlen (Montreal), jazz singer and educator; and Nicole Rampersaud (Toronto), jazz trumpet performer, composer, improvisor and educator.
About the Award
The Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award was established at the Ontario Arts Foundation by the late Norman Walford, former Executive Director of the Ontario Arts Council, and the late Paul de Hueck, former CBC television production manager. The award recognizes in alternating years a classical or jazz keyboard artist, an art photographer, and a classical singer. The winner is chosen through a nominating and adjudication process managed by the Ontario Arts Council.
Previous award winners in the field of keyboard artistry include Marc-André Hamelin (2020), David Braid (2016), and Lorraine Desmarais and Janina Fialkowska (2007). 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 2023-2024, the OAF paid $4.6 million in endowment income and $500,000 in awards and grants.
For more than 60 years, the Ontario Arts Council has played a vital role in promoting and assisting the development of the arts and artists 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 2023-24, OAC invested its grant 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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