DON BANKS MUSIC AWARDS
Founded in 2011
This site will no longer be active as of January 2024,
but our email will continue to be active for a long time.
GOOD BYE
TO THE
DON BANKS MUSIC
AWARDS
It is with great sadness that we announce that the Don Banks Music Awards
will no long continue.
Since 2011, the awards have made a difference in the lives of so many people. Don Banks, who started the event was so proud of the awards. He beamed when he spoke of how amazing the competitors and adjudicators were. He wanted to do something special for the young people in Etobicoke in a musical way. He most certainly did.
Our students over the years have truly been incredible. Thank you to each and every one of you for your participation and your involvement, and of course your hard work.
Our adjudicators have been outstanding - top notch to be exact. With your expertise and your belief in these awards, our young people had an outstanding musical experience.
Our committee were friends who loved Don Banks. We became friends who loved each other and wanted the best for each and every student who applied. We will remain a close knit group because of the connections we made.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you gave to us. We wish you success in your future musical endeavours.
~ DBMA Committee
FINALIST COMPETITION
April 29, 2023 @ 7:00 p.m
Congratulations to all 21 applicants who were involved with the DBMA 2023.
Each of you has worked hard and shared outstanding performances
for the auditions and for the final concert. Thank you for participating.
The performances at the DBMA 2023 competition on April 29 were outstanding.
Thank you all for sharing your talent.
We are grateful for our esteemed adjudicators who had a difficult desicion selecting the
scholarship winners as the standard of performance was at such a high level.
The DBMA 2023 scholarship winners are:
Tamryn Sharma
Andrew Timokhov
Kevin Wang
Kaylin Woolley
Daniel Lu
Link to the April 29, 2023 competition:
https://youtube.com/live/a_lK3csNVng?feature=share
The program for the competition is available by clicking the button below.
ABOUT US
ABOUT THE AWARDS
The Don Banks Music Awards (DBMA) are music scholarships awarded annually to selected finalists. The competition is open to young musicians ranging in age from 10 to 18 years, who are attending elementary or secondary school, and who live or take music lessons in the area of Etobicoke, Ontario.
ABOUT DON BANKS
The late Mr. Don Banks was a former Etobicoke school principal and a member of Islington United Church, who believed in nurturing the musical studies of young people. Mr. Banks established the initial endowment for these scholarships.
FORMAT OF THE AWARDS
Traditionally, the Don Banks Music Awards are decided and announced at a gala spring concert wherein winning finalists compete. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the awards were paused in 2020. The Don Banks Music Awards took place as a completely virtual event in 2021 and 2022. In each of those years, approximately 35 local music students in the areas of strings, piano, voice and winds submitted applications and audition videos. An average of 12 finalists competed for multiple scholarships at the gala concert. Both virtual events were highly successful and enjoyed by everyone who attended.
In 2023, the Don Banks Music Awards competition will have video auditions and an in person competition in the sanctuary of Islington United Church.