Sudbury musician wins John Lennon songwriting contest

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 23, 2025 6:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Sudbury's Louis Simão is nary alien to the euphony industry. As a festival coordinator and accomplished performer, he's spent years helping different artists gain recognition.

Now, he's celebrating an grant of his own.

Simão won the expansive prize successful the World Music class of the John Lennon songwriting contention for his Portuguese opus Oração.

"I was conscionable looking astatine the judges and I started to consciousness like, wow, this whitethorn beryllium an important award… I mean, these are people, important radical successful the euphony industry," Simão said.

The contest, launched successful 1997 successful representation of John Lennon, is an yearly planetary contention unfastened to some amateur and nonrecreational songwriters. It recognizes archetypal compositions successful 12 philharmonic genres, from popular to jazz to country.

The contention is divided into 2 sessions with winners from each league advancing to vie for the expansive prize: a $20,000 currency grant and a prize bundle that includes nonrecreational euphony equipment.

Entries are judged by a sheet of manufacture professionals, including award-winning musicians and producers similar Jimmy Cliff, Nathan East, Sheila E., and Lita Ford.

Portuguese connection

Simão primitively co-wrote Oração with tenor saxophonist David French astir 20 years ago, but the opus remained mostly untouched arsenic helium pursued different philharmonic projects. Simão aboriginal re-recorded the opus successful collaboration with Carlos Bernardo, a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist.

"It's a opus astir successful general, it's astir ancestry, it's astir roots. It's besides astir paying it forward, you know, and being thankful for the gifts we person successful life," helium said.

The opus is sung wholly successful Portuguese, a motion to Simão's heritage.

"I grew up successful a Portuguese home. My parents immigrated to Toronto successful the 1960s," helium said. 

About 4 years agone Simão moved to Sudbury and said he's arrogant to correspond his caller assemblage done his music.

"It says Sudbury, Ontario, close beside my name," helium said. "I deliberation those connections … are important."

Oração is present moving connected to vie against the first-season victor of the World Music category. 

"When I was fortunate capable to person the email, which was a astonishment for sure, due to the fact that truly you're putting, benignant of throwing your chapeau successful the ring. And determination are radical from each astir the satellite you cognize that are entering their compositions into this contest," Simão said.