Composers Ana Sokolovic and Peter Paul Koprowski received NAC Awards in Ottawa Monday. (Kate Porter/CBC)The National Arts Centre is emulating the success of the Giller Prize in promoting Canadian literature, seeking to similarly champion serious music by bestowing a prestigious honour on a trio of contemporary composers.

John Estacio of Edmonton, Peter Paul Koprowski of the Ottawa area and Ana Sokolovic of Montreal are the winners of the NAC Awards, which encompass musical commissions and residencies valued at $75,000 each.

"We don't have this opportunity very often and I'm very happy about it," Sokolovic said Monday following the announcement in Ottawa.

"It's a great opportunity. I am grateful to have it. I somehow cannot [ignore the] sleepless nights that most likely are ahead of us, with what probably will be rather labour-intensive work, back pain, headaches. But it's great to have the opportunity," Koprowski quipped.

Each composer will be commissioned to write three works that will be performed by the NAC Orchestra over the next five years, and will help teach student musicians as part of the NAC's Summer Music Institute.

The NAC initiative was established in 2002, with Gary Kulesha, Denys Bouliane and Alexina Louie the inaugural recipients. The goal is to present the awards about every five years in future.

The NAC, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, has always presented the work of Canadian composers, at home and on tours abroad, and has commissioned 82 new Canadian works since its start. However, there was a desire to do more, said NAC president and CEO Peter Herrndorf.

'Nation-building through the arts'

"We see this as nation-building through the arts because through their imaginative work our talented creators give voice to this country's epic story and celebrate the spirit of its people," he said.

Herrndorf, who attended this year's Scotiabank Giller Prize gala, cited the palpable enthusiasm and support at those festivities Nov. 10 in Toronto, where Linden MacIntyre won the $50,000 award for his novel The Bishop’s Man.

"If there was one bit of conventional wisdom in that hall, in that room that night, it was that Canadian fiction writers were among the best in the world," Herrndorf said.

"What we're saying is that Canadian composers are the same. And our hope is that there will be that kind of recognition on the part of Canadian audiences, Canadian critics and ultimately international audiences and international critics."

With files from Kate Porter