The Arts Achievement Awards celebrate artistic contributions, cultural achievement, and excellence by individuals, organizations, and businesses in our community.
Learn more about award eligibility and the nomination process.
2024 Recipients
Richard Hornsby
Richard Hornsby is the conductor and music director of the Fredericton Symphony Orchestra. Since 2010, the local musician has been devoted to the Orchestra’s artistic development, while elevating orchestral music across New Brunswick. Under Hornsby’s leadership, the Fredericton Symphony Orchestra has grown into a full-sized ensemble with more than 50 musicians.
Hornsby is also an educator and performer on clarinet, bass clarinet, basset horn and saxophone. In 1992 he was appointed Director of Music at the University of New Brunswick, where he teaches, and conducts ensembles.
Hornsby has either founded or been involved with projects like the UNB Music Camp, the UNB Music Conservatory, Atlantic Sinfonia, and the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival. Hornsby is also a volunteer and musical advocate. He has served as president of the New Brunswick Youth Orchestra, president of the New Brunswick Arts Board, and president of the New Brunswick Arts Council.
Lisa Anne Ross
Lisa Anne Ross is the Founder and Artistic Producer of Solo Chicken Productions, a theatre company in Fredericton. She is an actor, playwright, director, and advocate for social inclusion through theatre.
Since arriving in Fredericton in 2010, Ross has developed several programs and projects that aim to promote inclusive arts practices. This includes MERGE, an initiative designed to hire artists with physical and intellectual disabilities. In 2019 she founded the Spirit Project, a weekly theatre workshop for adults with intellectual disabilities. Since then, artists involved in the program have performed in multiple shows and toured across Atlantic Canada.
In 2023, her company headed a community art project that featured portraits of participants of the River Stone Recovery Centre, a clinic in downtown Fredericton that provides services to people with substance use disorder. The goal was for residents to foster a sense of compassion for people who rely on the centre for help. Ross also teaches and directs part-time at St. Thomas University. “It is a privilege to celebrate both of these musical and theatre professionals who devote their careers to stretching our imaginations,” said Wayne Burley, Chair of the Arts & Culture Advisory Committee. “There is no question, these recipients have influenced experiences, views, and conversations across our city and our province.”