Calgary Opera's Bob McPhee Wins First Rozsa Award

At the Mayor's Luncheon for Business and the Arts in Calgary on May 7, Calgary Opera General Director & CEO Bob McPhee was selected over 27 other nominees as the first ever recipient of the Rozsa Award for Excellence in Arts Administration. The Award was created last fall by Dr. Ted Rozsa with the prize money he received from CBAC as the winner of the 2002 Edmund C. Bovey Award. He then matched the $20,000 Bovey prize money with funds from the Rozsa Foundation, and CBAC Board Member Jim Stanford and Sharon Watkins of McLean and Partners also gave matching funds.

In presenting the Rozsa Award to Bob McPhee, Ted's daughter, Mary Rozsa de Coquet, cited the artistic and financial achievements that Calgary Opera has achieved over the past five years under his leadership, including the sizeable growth in attendance and participation by the community.

In thanking the Rozsa family, Bob McPhee spoke of the great honour to be the first recipient of this award, and cited the unprecedented support the Rozsas have given to the arts in Calgary - echoing what he wrote in his nomination of Ted Rozsa for the Edmund C. Bovey Award. McPhee also thanked the Rozsas on behalf of all artistic administrators for creating an award recognizing the role they play in the industry.

The Rozsa Award for Excellence in Arts Management celebrates and promotes excellence in arts management by recognizing an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in this area. This is the only award of its kind in Canada. The award provides a cash prize of $10,000 to Bob McPhee, and $10,000 to Calgary Opera. In addition, the Calgary Centre for Non-Profit Management will provide up to a maximum of 120 hours of in-kind services to assist Calgary Opera with mentoring to further develop their business plan and best business practices.

Bob McPhee's administrative talents have been recognized before. He is a recipient of The Chalmers National Award for Arts Administration, the Syncrude Award for Innovation in Arts Administration and The Alberta Achievement Award.