His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, announced on December 30, 2016, 100 new appointments to the Order of Canada. The new list includes: 3 Companions (C.C.), 22 Officers (O.C.) including Michael Schade, and 75 Members (C.M.) including Pierre Morrissette. Both Michael Schade and Pierre Morrissette reside in Oakville, Ontario.
“I am delighted to recognize these new recipients of the Order of Canada in this milestone year,” said the Governor General. “Besides marking Canada’s 150th anniversary, 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Order. So let’s be inspired by the examples set by these remarkable Canadians and use this occasion to build a smarter and more caring country in which every individual can succeed to the greatest extent possible.”
Pierre Morrissette
Pierre Morrissette will be receiving the Member of Order of Canada, for his business leadership as head of The Weather Network/MétéoMédia, which provides weather information to millions of Canadians.
Born in Montreal, Pierre completed a degree in Economics at Loyola College in 1968. He completed a Masters Business Administration degree from the Ivey Business School in 1972.
Pierre began his career with the Royal Bank of Canada in 1972. He joined Telemedia Communications Inc. in 1977 as CFO. He then joined Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (Cancom) as President and CEO in 1983. During his six years at Cancom, it was named one of Canada’s most rapidly growing companies and completed a very successful public issue.
Pierre left Cancom in 1989 and founded Pelmorex Media Inc. The company purchased The Weather Network and MeteoMedia in 1993. Under Pierre’s direction, the Pelmorex team has transformed the company as the undisputed leader in the weather-related information services market in Canada as well as a leader in multi-platform digital information services. As one of the top media brands, the company's television, web, and application services connect with more than 20 million Canadians every month, most of them every day. The company has expanded internationally in countries such as Spain, U.K., and the U.S. The company has also acquired Beat The Traffic, a multi-platform routing and navigation service, which operates in Canada and the U.S.
In addition to his duties at Pelmorex, Pierre is a member of the Advisory Council for the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Ivey Business School. He is a trustee of the Pierre L. Morrissette Family Foundation and the Mental Wellness Network Foundation. Pierre was a member of the Rogers Wireless Board from 1990 until 2005. He has served on numerous industry boards including the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) and was inducted into the CAB's Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2006.
In August 2010, Pierre received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa from Western University and was awarded the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 award in Ontario for the Media & Entertainment Category. In 2012, Pierre was the recipient of the Ivey Distinguished Service Award. Most recently, Pierre was a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal that is presented to Canadians to celebrate significant contributions and achievements, and to recognize their dedication to their fellow citizens, community, and Country.
Michael Schade
Michael Schade will be receiving the Officer of Order of Canada. This is an honorary appointment for his achievements as a renowned tenor and for his contributions to the world of opera.
Hailed as one of the world’s leading tenors, German-Canadian tenor Michael Schade performs on every major opera stage and in the most prestigious concert halls of the world. His art form embraces a wide repertoire of performances in opera, recital, concert, and recording.
He continued his close collaboration with the Vienna State Opera in the 2014/15 season returning for a new production of IDOMENEO under Christoph Eschenbach and Kasper Holten. At the Vienna State Opera, Michael Schade has performed all of the leading Mozart and Strauss roles. His subtle, yet powerful interpretation of Dvořák’s RUSALKA, Mozart's LA CLEMENZA DI TITO and in Strauss' CAPRICCIO with Renée Fleming won him critical acclaim and high praise from audiences.
He frequently performs at the Metropolitan Opera, the Munich Opera and the Canadian Opera Company, where he had his highly acclaimed debut as Eisenstein in DIE FLEDERMAUS in 2014, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Liceu Barcelona, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Opéra Bastille in Paris. In November 2013 Michael Schade has been invited back by Simone Young to debut PETER GRIMES at the Hamburg State Opera to sing Aschenbach in DEATH IN VENICE. The unanimous critical acclaim for these role debuts, which includes his first Florestan in Beethoven’s FIDELIO at the Theater an der Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, have paved the way for more dramatic parts to be added to his already impressive repertoire. Further highlights include Berg’s LULU with Fabio Luisi at the Metropolitan Opera, and IDOMENEO with the Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam and a new production of DON GIOVANNI for which he returned to the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto.
As one of the favorite artists of the Salzburg Festival for almost two decades, Michael Schade has appeared in new stagings of Mozart’s LA CLEMENZA DI TITO, Purcell’s KING ARTHUR, Mozart’s ZAUBERFLÖTE, Haydn’s ARMIDA, Cherubini’s MEDÉE and von Winter’s DAS LABYRINTH. Recent highlights in Salzburg include Haydn’s CREATION and SEASONS under the baton of Harnoncourt and Schubert’s DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN with Rudolf Buchbinder. In 2008 he initiated and was appointed the Creative Director of the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project, where his public master classes are an audience favorite. In summer 2014, he presented himself in the title role of Schubert's FIERRABRAS with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Ingo Metzmacher, directed by Peter Stein.
In addition to his opera career, Michael Schade has earned a reputation as a stellar concert and recital soloist, his immense repertoire ranges from Bach’s Cantatas and Passions to Mahler’s LIED VON DER ERDE. He is frequently invited to perform with the leading orchestras and their renowned conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Pierre Boulez, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph von Dohnányi, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Mariss Jansons, Philippe Jordan, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Kent Nagano, Peter Oundjan, Sir Simon Rattle, Helmuth Rilling, Christian Thielemann, Robin Ticciati, Franz Welser-Möst, and Simone Young. Furthermore, his musical activities were strongly influenced by his frequent collaboration with Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
Michael Schade´s past season included concerts with Mahler‘s LIED VON DER ERDE with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding, followed by Beethoven´s IX Symphony in Bologna and Warsaw as well as Mozart´s REQUIEM with Zubin Mehta and the Munich Philharmonic and with Stefan Gottfried and the Concentus Musicus in the Vienna Musikverein. Further highlights were a concert version of Beethoven´s LEONORE at the Theater an der Wien and ARABELLA/Matteo at the Vienna State Opera. The end of May saw his debut as Stolzing in Wagner´s MEISTERSINGER at the Glyndebourne Festival.
Highlights of the season 2016/2017 include concerts of Beethoven´s IX Symphony with the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra under the baton of Myung Whun-Chung in Milan, Seoul and Shanghai, Mahler´s 8th Symphony under Paavo Järvi in Tokyo, Mozart´s Requiem and Beethoven´s IX Symphony with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Kent Nagano in Montreal, Mendelssohn´s ELIAS under Matthew Halls at the Vienna Konzerthaus, concerts of Bruckner´s TE DEUM with Zubin Mehta in Munich and the Mass in F minor with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Christian Thielemann.
At the end of the year Michael Schade will be heard as Gabriel von Eisenstein/DIE FLEDERMAUS at the Vienna State Opera. Further concerts include Mahler´s LIED VON DER ERDE under the baton of Douglas Boyd in Paris, "Salomons Reise" with Rubén Dubrovsky in Salzburg as well as the dramatic cantata COLUMBUS (Heinrich von Herzogenburg) in Graz.
Michael Schade’s undisputed accomplishments and charm as a recitalist have inspired audiences at every major venue, including the Musikverein, Konzerthaus and State Opera in Vienna, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, New York’s Alice Tully and Carnegie Halls, London’s Wigmore Hall, Verbier Festival, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Grafenegg Festival, and La Scala in Milan. Recent recitals took him to the Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salzburg’s Mozartwoche and the Konzerthaus in Vienna.
A prolific recording artist, Michael Schade has performed in Bach’s ST. MATTHEW’S PASSION with Harnoncourt which was awarded a Grammy for the best choral work. In a close artistic relationship with Maestro Harnoncourt, he has also recorded Handel’s MESSIAH, Verdi’s REQUIEM, Haydn’s ORLANDO PALADINO, Mozart’s ZAIDE and LA CLEMENZA DI TITO. Other notable recordings include Mahler’s LIED VON DER ERDE with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Pierre Boulez, Mozart’s REQUIEM with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, and Grammy nominated DAPHNE with Renée Fleming under Semyon Bychkov, including live recordings of the Mozart Gala at Salzburg Festival. His list of awards includes three Junos for CBC Records’ DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN with Malcolm Martineau, Soirée Française and Mozart: Arie e Duetti. Recently he was featured in live recordings of DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN with Rudolf Buchbinder at Grafenegg and DVDs of ARABELLA (Vienna State Opera), DAS LABYRINTH (Salzburg Festival) and of the SUMMER NIGHT CONCERT of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Schönbrunn) in 2013 under the baton of Lorin Maazel.
In 2007, the Republic of Austria appointed Michael Schade to Kammersänger for his exceptional cultural merits. Mr. Schade was artist-in-residence at the Musikverein in Vienna, featuring his own subscription series in the 2009/10 season. He is the Artistic Director of the Hapag Lloyd Stella Maris International Vocal Competition and, together with Dee McKee, initiator of the Red Ribbon Celebration Concert, a fundraising initiative for the Clinton Health Access Initiative. The Internationale Barocktage Stift Melk has appointed Mr. Schade its Artistic Director through 2019.