Juno Awards Gala good to Quebec artists
Dolan, Leloup, Braids and the MSO pick up awards ahead of Sunday's ceremony
Director Xavier Dolan, singer Jean Leloup and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra were among the Quebec acts who won Juno Awards at a gala ahead of Sunday's showcase event in Calgary.
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The Juno Gala Dinner and Awards, which was held on Saturday, are where the bulk of the 41 Junos are handed out. The remaining awards were announced in a televised ceremony on Sunday night.
Dolan won for his direction of the music video for Adele's hit song Hello, which he shot in Montreal.
Leloup snagged francophone album of the year for À Paradis City, beating out entries by Ariane Moffatt, Galaxie and Marie-Pierre Arthur. He was also nominated in the album of the year category, but lost to The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness.
Deep in the Iris, by the Montreal-based art-rock group Braids, won for best alternative album of the year.
The Montreal Symphony Orchestra, with Olivier Latry and Jean-Willy Kunz, won classical album: large ensemble or soloist(s) with large ensemble accompaniment. The orchestra was also nominated in the same category for its work on French Trumpet Concertos.
Alt-rock superstars Arcade Fire were given the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award for their contributions to various charitable causes for Haiti. The Junos estimate the band has donated more than $4 million to charities such as Partners In Health and KANPE.
Other winners with Quebec ties include Montreal-based Boogat, winners in the world music album of the year category for Neo-Reconquista.
The ensemble L'Harmonie des Saisons, who work out of the Eastern Townships, picked up the award for classical album: vocal or choral performance, in recognition of Las Ciudades de Oro.
Kataklysm, a Montreal band known for its "hyperblast"-style of death metal, came away with heavy metal album of the year.
And Montreal-based composers Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld — better known for their work with Arcade Fire — claimed instrumental album of the year honours for Never Were The Way She Was.
