Interplay: Musiciens et compositeurs 2025

Joel Ivany — qui a été décrit comme « l’enfant pas si terrible de l’opéra au Canada » — est reconnu pour sa capacité de repousser les limites de l’opéra. En 2010, il a fondé, à Toronto, la compagnie d’opéra Against the Grain Theatre, à laquelle il continue de consacrer du temps. Il a adapté et traduit plus de 10 opéras présentés dans des lieux inattendus, et a été qualifié de « héros des arts » par le Globe and Mail en 2020 pour son travail de réalisation pour le film numérique loué par la critique Messiah/Complex, une adaptation du Messie de Händel. Joel Ivany a également mis en scène 50 productions pour des compagnies d’opéra des quatre coins de l’Amérique du Nord et de l’Europe, dont la Compagnie d’opéra canadienne, l’Opéra de Vancouver et l’Opéra du Minnesota.

Amiel Gladstone est un auteur et un metteur en scène qui vit sur la Côte Ouest. Au nombre des opéras qu’il a mis en scène figurent Rattenbury et la Tosca à Pacific Opera Victoria, Dark Sisters et Lucia di Lammermoor à l’Opéra de Vancouver, ainsi que plusieurs opéras jeunesse pour le programme Vancouver Opera In Schools. En tant que metteur en scène, il a dirigé des productions adaptées à des sites non conventionnels, tout comme des productions traditionnelles présentées dans des salles de théâtre, pour des compagnies dont Alberta Theatre Projects, l’Arts Club de Vancouver, Belfry Theatre, Caravan Farm Theatre, Factory Theatre, le Firehall, le Guild Hall Theatre (Whitehorse, Yukon), Musical Stage Co, Theatre Replacement, Theatre Conspiracy, Theatre SKAM, la Vancouver Playhouse, et le Festival PuSh. En tant qu’auteur, il a vu ses pièces produites par Alberta Theatre Projects, Belfry Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, Caravan Farm Theatre, le Centre national des arts, Solo Collective, Western Edge Theatre, Theatre SKAM. Ses pièces ont également été présentées sur la scène internationale aux États-Unis, en France et en Roumanie.

Veuillez vérifier régulièrement les ajouts à la liste des professeurs.

Kamna Gupta est une chef d’orchestre américaine primée, qui a une l’expérience considérable en opéra, en musique orchestrale et en musique chorale. Sa saison 2023-24 a été ponctuée de premières : Mme Gupta a dirigé le chœur (Trinity Choir) et l’ensemble NOVUS de la Trinity Church Wall Street (New York) dans Number Our Days, le nouvel oratorio de Luna Pearl Woolf, et reparaît au festival Spoleto pour y diriger la première de l’opéra Ruinous Gods de Layale Chaker . De plus, Mme Gupta a également a été chef adjointe à l’Opéra national à Washington pour l’opéra Songbird (La Périchole adaptée au jazz),  s’est jointe au corps enseignant du programme d’Opéra de chambre du Centre des arts et de la créativité de Banff, et a fait une nouvelle apparition à Tapestry Opera pour y diriger Rocking Horse Winner de Gareth Williams, opéra qui a été enregistré sous sa baguette durant la pandémie, a été accueilli chaleureusement par la critique et a été diffusé à l’Opéra du samedi au réseau anglais de Radio-Canada. Elle a également dirigé Les pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) à l’Opéra de Vancouver, In Our Daughter’s Eyes  (Du Yun) avec l’Opéra de Los Angeles dans le cadre du Prototype Festival, et la première de The Rip Van Winkles  (Ben Morris) au festival Glimmerglass (New York).

La musique de Daniel Schlosberg, compositeur, pianiste et chef d’orchestre qui vit à Brooklyn, a été jouée par le quatuor Dover, l’Orchestre du Minnesota, le Trinity Wall Street Choir, et les orchestres symphoniques de Nashville et d’Albany, dans des lieux comme le Carnegie Hall, Le Poisson Rouge (NY), le Royal Albert Hall (Londres), le Beijing Modern Music Festival, et le Festival of Disruption de David Lynch. Elle a aussi fait l’objet d’articles du New York Times et a été diffusée à l’émission Soundcheck du réseau WNYC. Daniel Schlosberg a reçu la bourse Charles Ives de l’American Academy of Arts and Letters et deux prix Morton Gould de l’ASCAP. Il a composé et dirigé des ensembles au Soho Repertory Theater, au Public Theater (NY), au Festival de théâtre de Williamstown, au Baryshnikov Arts Center et à Playwrights Horizons. Au nombre de ses projets de composition et de direction récents  figurent A Boys' Company Presents: Tell Me If I'm Hurting You  de Jeremy O. Harris (été 2023), Only an Octave Apart d’Anthony Roth Costanzo et Justin Vivian Bond (Wilton’s Music Hall, Londres, octobre 2022) et au Festival de Spoleto (juin 2023), et The Extinctionist, un nouvel opéra composé pour Heartbeat Opera (première au printemps 2024). Daniel Schlosberg est le directeur musical de Heartbeat Opera, pour qui il a signé des orchestrations radicales d’opéra classiques dont l’ingéniosité a été louée par le Wall Street Journal. En plus de ses collaborations avec Angel Blue, Ariana DeBose, Ben Stiller, Tony Kushner, Anthony McGill et Imani Winds, Daniel Schlosberg a été pianiste sur la trame sonore primée (Grammy) du film West Side Story de Steven Spielberg, et soliste de la production de Only an Octave Apart avec l’Orchestre philharmonique de New York.

Lauréate de la médaille d’excellence Sphinx de 2022, la célèbre soprano américaine Karen Slack a acquis une renommée internationale pour sa polyvalence, son charisme et ses réalisations professionnelles. Elle a été acclamée par la critique pour ses interprétations énergiques et passionnées tant dans des rôles principaux d’opéra qu’en récital. Collaboratrice recherchée, elle est reconnue comme chef de file et militante, comme conceptrice de projets et conseillère artistique, et comme quelqu’un qui a une conception révolutionnaire de l’engagement.

Ténor et professeur de chant américain, Jason Ferrante a été décrit par Opera News comme chantant « une tempête de style » et comme « l’une des meilleures voix que j’aie entendues depuis très longtemps »  par Gayle Williams  dans le Sarasota Herald Tribune. Au cours des deux dernières saisons, on l’a entendu incarner Beadle Bamford dans une nouvelle production de Sweeney Todd par Opera Omaha, Don Basilio et Don Curzio dans Le Nozze di Figaro à l’Opéra de la Virginie et à l’Opéra de Knoxville, le « quatrième Juif » dans Salome avec l’Opéra de Tulsa, qu’en concert avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Palm Beach comme ténor soliste dans le Requiem de Mozart sous la direction de Gerard Schwarz. Il a incarné plus de 80 rôles sur la scène de l’opéra et s’est produit comme soliste avec des orchestres de premier plan, dont ceux de Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Juilliard, et des orchestres symphoniques nationaux. En plus de cumuler deux décennies d’expérience de scène, Jason Ferrante est devenu l’un des professeurs de chant les plus recherchés du monde de l’opéra, enseignant à des professionnels qui se produisent sur les scènes du monde ainsi qu’à des chanteurs participant aux programmes de formation de compagnies d’opéra du Minnesota, de Pensacola, de Nashville, de Portland, de Wolf Trap et d’Arizona, ainsi que du Brevard Opera Institute. Il fait régulièrement partie du jury du Concours Laffont du Metropolitan Opera et dirige le département de chant classique de YoungArts.

Amanda Testini est une actrice, chorégraphe et metteure en scène vivant sur les terres ancestrales non cédées des Premières Nations Musqueam, Squamish et Tsleil-Waututh. Elle a travaillé à l’Arts Club, au festival Bard on the Beach, au Cultch, Theatre Replacement, le Firehall Arts Centre, le Belfry Theatre, Opera Kelowna, le Gateway, Savage Society, Theatre Under the Stars, VACT, Carousel Theatre, shameless hussy productions, Neworld Theatre, Speakeasy Theatre, The Electric Company, l’Opéra de Vancouver et Axis Theatre. Au nombre des points forts de sa carrière, notons le travail de chorégraphe adjointe pour Onegin (Arts Club/Belfry), une tournée canadienne dans le rôle principal de Justine Chambers in Love Bomb (shameless hussy productions), la chorégraphie de quatre « East Van Pantos » pour Theatre Replacement, l’incarnation du rôle de Lydia Wickham dans Miss Benett: Christmas at Pemberly, et le travail d’assistante à la mise en scène pour La Cenerentola (Vancouver Opera). Elle a aussi été metteure en scène dans le cadre du programme pour jeunes artistes Yulanda M Faris (2021-2022) à l’Opéra de Vancouver où elle a mis en scène Cavalleria Rusticana in Concert (Mascagni) et Blond Eckbert (Judith Weir), et a été chorégraphe et assistante à la mise en scène de HMS Pinafore (Gilbert et Sullivan). Elle a tout récemment travaillé  conjointement à l’élaboration du spectacle de danse contemporaine de Sophie Dow sur la musique d’Agrimony, le nouvel album de Laura Reznek. Amanda Testini est très reconnaissante d’être ici au Centre des arts de Banff pour continuer à faire évoluer son art et pour se plonger dans le somptueux monde de l’opéra. Elle tient également à souligner le soutien du Fonds pour artistes Bill Millerd de l’Arts Club Theatre Company. Diplômée du Studio 58, elle a été en nomination pour un prix Jessie.

Brenna Corner is an international opera and theatre stage director working across the United States, Canada and Europe. She is also the Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Victoria, in British Columbia Canada.

Select directing projects include: Il Trovatore (Washington National Opera); Tenor Overboard (Glimmerglass Festival); H.M.S Pinafore (Vancouver Opera); Carmen (Des Moines Metro Opera); Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera); Hansel and Gretel (San Diego Opera & Vancouver Opera); La Bohème (Calgary Opera); Dead Man Walking (The Israeli Opera); La Bohème (The Dallas Opera); Noye’s Fludd & Scalia/Ginsburg (Glimmerglass Opera); Sweeney Todd (New Orleans Opera); Der fliegende Holländer (Cincinnati Opera & Houston Grand Opera); L’Elisir d’Amore (Vancouver Opera); Carmen (The Atlanta Opera); and Cendrillon & La Clemenza di Tito (Manitoba Underground Opera).

She was the founding Artistic Director of Manitoba Underground Opera, which produces a festival of new operatic experiences each August in Winnipeg. She has also worked as a dramatic coach for training programs including The Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist Program in Washington D.C.

Brenna made her directorial main stage debut in 2016 with a new production of Hansel and Gretel designed by the Old Trout Puppet Workshop for Vancouver Opera. This production has since toured North America, and was mostly recently produced for San Diego Opera as part of their 2019-20 season. She made her American directorial debut in February of 2017 with New Orleans Opera, creating a new production of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

During the COVID-19 pandemic she created new opera experiences through film including Don Giovanni for Seattle Opera, Carmen: Up-Close and Personal for Vancouver Opera, Dear Mom: a web series for Kentucky Opera and Green Envelopes for Manitoba Underground Opera.

Brenna was a member of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera and spent two years as the resident director for The Atlanta Opera Studio Artist Program. She is a certified member of Fight Directors Canada and has choreographed many fights for both opera and theatre.

She studied classical music at The University of Manitoba, and she has diplomas in theatre from Grant MacEwan College and The British American Drama Academy.

Dr. Joel Brennan enjoys a diverse career as a performer and teacher. He has performed with orchestras around the globe, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (Korea), Rotterdam Philharmonic (Netherlands), Winnipeg Symphony (Canada), Malaysian Philharmonic, and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), and has served as principal trumpet of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (Japan) and Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (Netherlands).

A proponent of contemporary music and chamber music, Joel has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works, with a particular emphasis on working with emerging composers and those from underrepresented demographics. He is a member of Ensemble Three, a unique trio of trumpet, trombone, and guitar which has been praised as “an inspiring example of forward-thinking classical music culture” and won the 2017 Melbourne Recital Centre Contemporary Masters Award. He is also a member of Lyrebird Brass, a collective of players dedicated to performing the finest brass chamber music.

Joel received his bachelor's degree from Oberlin Conservatory of Music before pursuing graduate studies at the Yale School of Music from which he is a recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Awarded a Fulbright Grant 2007, Joel spent a year performing, teaching, and studying in the Netherlands.

Deeply devoted to education, Joel is Associate Professor of Music Performance at Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (University of Melbourne, Australia). He has also served on the faculty of Brandon University (Canada) and the Juilliard School's campus in Tianjin (China) where he worked with students in the pre-college program and graduate school in addition to performing with the Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble. He has been a guest teaching artist at the Australasian Trumpet Academy, Danish/German Brass Academy, and Oberlin Trumpet Workshop. He is the creator of "Poper's Game," a unique practice app for trumpet players.

Joel is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

Aiyun Huang enjoys a musical life as soloist, chamber musician, researcher, teacher and producer. Globally recognized since winning the 2002 First Prize and Audience Prize of the Geneva International Music Competition. She is a champion of existing repertoire and a prominent voice in the collaborative creation of new works. Huang has commissioned and premiered over two hundred works in her two decades as a soloist and chamber musician. The Globe and Mail critic Robert Everett-Green describes Huang’s playing as “engrossing to hear and to watch” and her choice of repertoire as capable of “renovating our habits of listening.” Her past highlights include performances at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, Weill Recital Hall in New York, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra’s Green Umbrella Series, LACMA Concert Series, Holland Festival, Agora Festival in Paris, Banff Arts Festival, 7éme Biennale d’Art Contemporaine de Lyon, Vancouver New Music Festival, CBC Radio, La Jolla Summerfest, Scotia Festival, Cool Drummings, Montreal New Music Festival, Centro Nacional Di Las Artes in Mexico City, Cervantino Festival, and National Concert Hall and Theater in Taipei. Her recent highlights include performances with St. Lawrence String Quartet, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Taipei Symphony Orchestra and San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Her recent premieres include works by Philippe Leroux, David Bithell, Nicole Lizée, George Lewis, and Eliot Britton.

The multi-award-winning Spanish clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester (FrAHnk Bai-yess-TAIR) is considered one of the finest classical soloists and chamber music artists of his generation. He has been hailed for his “technical wizardry and tireless enthusiasm” (The New York Times), his “rich, resonant tone” (Birmingham News), and his “subtle and consummate artistry” (Santa Barbara Independent). The recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2008, and winner of both the Young Concert Artists and Astral Artists auditions, he is a solo artist and chamber musician in great demand.

As a concerto soloist Mr. Franch-Ballester made his New York debut in 2006 with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center. He has also performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and various orchestras in his native Spain.

Mr. Franch-Ballester made his New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y, and has appeared in recital at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Iowa State University, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society, and the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. He performs regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center both in New York City and on tour, and also acts as principal clarinet of the Santa Barbara-based chamber music collective Camerata Pacifica.

U.S. festival appearances include the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Mainly Mozart, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, and Skaneateles Festival. Abroad, Mr. Franch-Ballester has appeared at the Usedomer Musikfestival in Germany, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Cartagena Festival Internacional de Música in Colombia, the Kon-Tiki Festival in Norway, and the Young Concert Artists Festival in Tokyo.

Trombonist Lee Allen has performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Diego Symphony. As acting principal trombone of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, he has performed with the Santa Monica Symphony, Riverside Symphony, San Bernardino Symphony, Long Beach Opera, Burbank Philharmonic, and Los Angeles Jewish Symphony . Allen toured as a member of award-winning smooth jazz artist Brian Culbertson’s band in 2008 and also performed with Adele at the Academy Awards in 2013. Allen has worked on numerous recording projects including a project at The Bridge Recording in L.A. with Jay Friedman. He is a founding member of the critically acclaimed MOMUS trombone quartet, and a member of the Pacific Trombone Project, which comprises some of the leading players in Thailand, South Korea, China, and Australia.

A dedicated and sought-after teacher, Allen currently serves as trombone faculty and chair of brass and percussion at The Tianjin Juilliard School. There he is also a member of the Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble, an all-faculty ensemble performing chamber concerts throughout Asia. Allen is a member of the summer faculty at RondoFest in Penang, Malaysia. He has taught at the Oberlin Conservatory, University of Southern California, and Colburn School for the Performing Arts. During his tenure as assistant professor of trombone at the Oberlin Conservatory from 2013 - 2019, Allen was soloist with many large ensembles. He performed the US premiere of Christopher Starks’ Nanokonzert for solo trombone and contemporary ensemble in 2015. He also led the Oberlin Brass Quintet on a month-long tour of China and took students to Uganda, Africa as part of a collaboration with Brass for Africa. Allen has presented master classes throughout the United States, South Korea, and China.

Allen earned a DMA and MM in trombone performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, and a bachelor’s of music education from the

University of Kentucky. His primary mentors have included Terry Cravens, Dale Warren, Bill Watrous, and Per Brevig.

Lee Allen is a Shires Performing Artist.

In the earlier days of the COVID pandemic, after a series of outdoor concerts, the Garneau String Quartet was formed and recently became Ensemble-in-Residence at MacEwan University Conservatory of Music in Edmonton, Alberta. The quartet is comprised of members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra - violinists Robert Uchida and Laura Veeze, violist Keith Hamm, and cellist Julie Hereish.

As part of their residency, the quartet performs a series of concerts throughout the season. They also coach young artists in the Chamber Music Academy Program who work with guest artists, and participate in performance classes and recitals.

The GSQ has toured the province of Alberta and has collaborated with artists such as Tom Allen, Lori Gemmel, Philip Chiu, Desmond Hoebig, Jessica Linnebach, and the Rosebud String Quartet.

The quartet gratefully acknowledges the support of the descendants of Eleanor and Laurent Garneau, for whom music and music making was, and is, a great source of inspiration and expression.

Robert Uchida (Violin): Robert joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) as concertmaster in 2013, having held the same position with Symphony Nova Scotia for seven years. A passionate teacher, Robert serves on the faculty at the University of Alberta and has held teaching positions at Acadia University, the Manhattan School of Music and the National Arts Centre of Canada’s Young Artists Program.

Laura Veeze (Violin): Dutch violinist and violist Laura Veeze has reached audiences on three continents as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She has held principal second violin positions with the Radio Chamber Philharmonic in the Netherlands and with Symphony Nova Scotia. In addition to her position with the first violins of the ESO, she is concertmaster of the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, and principal second violin of the Alberta Baroque Ensemble.

Keith Hamm (Viola): Keith joined the ESO in September 2019 as principal violist, a position he held with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra for eight seasons. A native of Rosebud, Alberta, Keith received his training at the Glenn Gould School of Music under the instruction of Steven Dann, and at the Mount Royal Conservatory with Nicholas Pulos. Keith is founder and artistic director of the Rosebud Chamber Music Festival in Rosebud, Alberta. He is also co-founder and violist of the Rosebud String Quartet.

Julie Hereish (Cello): Julie Hereish joined the ESO as assistant principal cello in 2019. She previously held the same position with the Québec Symphony Orchestra. Born in Montreal, Julie pursued her studies in her hometown, and then in Vienna, Austria. Julie is a co-founder and member of the Edmonton-based High Level Trio, comprised of members of the ESO. Alongside her husband, Keith Hamm, she founded The New Cohort at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The duet went on tour in the Maritimes with Debut Atlantic in September 2022.

Born in Korea, Sung-Won Yang graduated from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and was assistant to Janos Starker at Indiana University in the United States. He is regularly invited to be in the jury of the International Competitions such as International String Quartet competition in Banff, Canada, the International Cello Competition André Navarra in France, the International Cello Competition Cassado Japan and the Tongyeong International Competition in Korea. Recipient of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, he is currently a professor of cello at the School of Music Yonsei University in Seoul, visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music and Artistic Director of the Festival Beethoven à Beaune, in France, as well as Music In PyeongChang Festival.

Paul Meyer made his debut in 1982 by winning the prestigious Eurovision Competition at just 17 years old. He was appointed Solo Clarinet at the Lyon Opera Orchestra in 1983, then at the Ensemble Intercontemporain in 1984 and at the Paris Opera in 1985. Very quickly, he left the orchestra for an international soloist career with performances in major international venues with world renowned orchestras (Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, NHK Tokyo, Russian State Orchestra, …) and alongside the world’s finest musicians such as Benny Goodman, Isaac Stern, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Yehudi Menuhin, Yo-Yo Ma or Emmanuel Ax. 

Passionate with chamber music, he has founded the ensemble Les Vents Français and is co-founder with Eric Le Sage and Emmanuel Pahud of the Festival International de Musique de Salon de Provence. 

For his contribution to the Arts in France and throughout the world, Paul Meyer has been awarded Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, France’s highest cultural honour.
 

Principal flute of the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra since 2003, Magali Mosnier is one of the most sought-after flutists on the international scene. Swinging happily from the Baroque to the Contemporary, she divides her career between concerts with her prestigious orchestra and solo projects throughout the world.

Having won the Jean-Pierre Rampal international competition in Paris (2001) and the ARD Competition in Munich (2004), she was named "Instrumental Soloist Revelation" at the Echo Klassik 2006 and nominated in the "Instrumental Soloist" category at the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2016 and 2020.

Magali has recorded four albums for Sony Classical: Fantaisie, Bach, Mozart and Mozart's Concerto for flute and harp with Xavier de Maistre. She has also collaborated on numerous chamber music recordings with works by Ravel, Dutilleux, Lenot, Lefrancois, and recently Debussy's flute, viola and harp Sonata with Antoine Tamestit and Xavier de Maistre for Harmonia Mundi.

This season she will appearing at the Klosters Festival with Arabella Steinbacher and Kammerakademie Potsdam, at the Moritzburg Festival, on tour in Germany with Eric Le Sage, with Anneleen Lenaerts and Nils Mönkemeyer at the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival, in Alexandre Desplat's concerto with the Wiener Symphoniker and Alexandre Desplat at the MusikVerein.

Magali is represented by Konzertdirektion Dr. Rudolf Goette, Hamburg. In addition to her activities as a performer, Magali Mosnier has always privileged teaching and transmission. After two years at the HEMU in Lausanne, she has been a professor at the CRR and the Pôle Supérieur de Paris for the past five years. Magali also regularly gives masterclasses in France and abroad.

Eric Le Sage is established as a famous representative of the French piano school, regularly boasted for his very subtle sound, his real sense of structure and poetic phrasing. Already when he was 20 years old, the Financial Times had described him as “an extremely cultivated disciple of the great French tradition of Schumann piano”. In 2010, die Zeit, praised his “ideal French piano aesthetics and clarity”.

Eric is invited to perform as a soloist with orchestras at the highest level such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Saint-Louis Symphony Orchestra, Berlin’s Konzerthaus Orchester, SWR Symphony Orchestra, Bremer Philharmoniker, Dresden Philharmonie, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Münchner Kammer Orchester, Dresdner Philharmonie, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, with conductors like Edo de Waart, Stéphane Denève, Pablo Gonzalez, Fabien Gabel, Sir Jeffrey Tate, François Leleux, Alexander Liebreich, Kazuki Yamada, Alondra de la Parra, Lionel Bringuier, François Leleux, Michael Stern, Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, Sir Simon Rattle and Yannick Nézet-Seguin.

Eric has performed recitals and chamber music concerts in major venues across the world such as Wigmore Hall, Suntory Hall, Carnegie Hall, Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle, Paris Philharmonie, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Radio France, Cologne Philharmonie, Essen Philharmonie, Dresden Philharmonie, Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Schwartzenberg’s Schubertiade, Salzburg Mozarteum, Ludwigsburg Festival, Prague’s Rudolfinium, Taipei National Concert Hall, Konzerthaus Vienna, Luxembourg Philharmonie, Dublin’s celebrity series, Edinburgh International Festival, Düsseldorf Tonhalle, la Roque d’Anthéron Festival, Potsdam Sanssouci, Brussels’ Bozar, Berlin’s Boulezsaal, Konzerthaus Berlin, Berlin Philharmonie.

Eric Le Sage released many albums, all of which were critically acclaimed and received multiple awards. Besides his world-famous Schumann cycle in 2010 that were awarded the very prestigious Jahrespreis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, other milestones include Francis Poulenc's complete chamber works with piano (BMG, 1998), Fauré¹s complete works for chamber music with piano, and Brahms complete chamber music works (B-Records, 2021).

Two magnificent albums were released in 2022: A Mozart album under the baton of his longtime stage partner François Leleux and the Gävle Symphony Orchestra on Alpha (concertos n° 17&24) and a solo album on Sony Classical featuring rare French repertoire from the beginning of the 20th century. In the last few years Eric released Fauré’s complete Nocturnes on Alpha (2019) and Beethoven's last 3 Sonatas (2014). Other recent chamber music recordings include collaborations with such artists as tenor Julian Pregardien for a Schumann album (2019) or Emmanuel Pahud, Paul Meyer, Daishin Kashimoto, Aurélien Pascal and more for albums around repertoire from Vienna in the 1900s, and works by Nino Rota.

A true chamber music lover, Eric regularly plays with friends like Emmanuel Pahud, Paul Meyer, Quatuor Ebène, François Leleux, Jean-Guihen Queyras, les Vents Français, François Salque, Lise Berthaud, Daishin Kashimoto, Claudio Bohorquez, Julian Prégardien, Sandrine Piau, Olivier Latry and many other musicians.

Born in Aix en Provence, Eric Le Sage was the winner of major international competitions such as Porto in 1985 and the Robert Schumann competition in Zwickau, in 1989. He was also a prize-winner at Leeds International competition the same year, which allowed him to perform under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. Eric Le Sage is Professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany.

Internationally renowned Acadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc's singing career includes performances and widely acclaimed recordings with keyboardists, chamber ensembles and orchestras in new, early and traditional repertoires.

She received the Order of Canada (2015) and four honorary doctorates for her prolific performances of early music, as well as for her contribution to Acadian culture. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Prix Éloize for the most distinguished artist outside Acadia. She commissioned eleven Canadian compositions set to the poetry of Pulitzer-Prize recipient Elizabeth Bishop and recorded them on the album “I am in need of music” which won an ECMA for Best Classical Recording. Ms. LeBlanc began her career as a well-known performer and scholar of Baroque repertoire. Residing in Europe between 1987 and 1999, she performed on main stages such as Het Concertgebouw, De Nederlandse Opera, The Vienna Konzerthaus,Wigmore Hall and the Proms in London. She toured Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, the US and South America with world leading early music ensembles. In 1998, she was invited to perform for the former president of Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, at the Canadian Embassy in Prague.

Returning to Montreal in the year 2000, she performed with major symphony orchestras on both sides of the border. In 2005, she founded Le Nouvel Opéra, a Montreal-based company that produces baroque opera and contemporary works. Three of Le Nouvel Opéra’s productions were featured in Early Music Vancouver’s Summer Festival (2005, 2006 and 2008).

Her thirst and curiosity for new vistas led her to expand her repertoire from mainly Baroque to a full range of classical and modern, as well as improvisation. After her Mozart lieder album with the renowned conductor and pianist Yannick Nezet-Seguin, she recorded works of Olivier Messiaen, winning a Quebec Opus award for best contemporary music recording, explored the art of improvisation with the ensemble Mélosphère on the CD "Tempi con Variazioni," which won an Opus Award for best World Music. Fascinated by the music of her native land, she recorded three CDs of Acadian traditional music (ATMA). Her recordings, numbered at 70, have received international praise and several prestigious awards: a Grammy award for Lully's “Thésée” and a CINI award (Italy) for the opera "Orfeo" by Sartorio, in which she sings the leading role.

Moved by the migrations and upheavals of her Acadian ancestors, she created a multimedia performance with composer Jerôme Blais: “mouvance” unites the words of 13 contemporary Acadian poets to Blais’s original music. The pivotal project will be released as a CD in November of 2023.

In January 2021, Suzie took on the role of Artistic and Executive Director of Early Music Vancouver, where she now resides.

Alexander Weimann is one of the most sought-after ensemble directors, soloists, and chamber music partners of his generation. After traveling the world with ensembles like Tragicomedia, Cantus Cölln, the Freiburger Barockorchester, the Gesualdo Consort and Tafelmusik, he now focuses on his activities as Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver, and as music director of Les Voix Baroques, Le Nouvel Opéra and Tempo Rubato.

Recently, he has conducted the Montreal-based baroque orchestra Ensemble Arion, Les Violons du Roy, and the Portland Baroque Orchestra; both the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra have regularly featured him as a featured soloist. In the last years, he has repeatedly conducted the Victoria Symphony and Symphony Nova Scotia, most recently with Handel’s “Messiah”.

Alexander Weimann can be heard on some 100 CDs. He made his North American recording debut with the ensemble Tragicomedia on the CD Capritio (Harmonia Mundi USA), and won worldwide acclaim from both the public and critics for his 2001 release of Handel’s Gloria (ATMA Classique). Volume 1 of his recordings of the complete keyboard works by Alessandro Scarlatti appeared in May 2005. Critics around the world unanimously praised it, and in the following year it was nominated for an Opus Prize as the best Canadian early music recording. Recently, he has also released an Opus Award-winning CD of Handel oratorio arias with superstar soprano Karina Gauvin and his new Montreal-based ensemble Tempo Rubato, a recording of Bach’s St. John’s Passion, various albums with Les Voix Baroques of Buxtehude, Carissimi and Purcell, all with rave reviews. His latest album with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque Orchestra (Prima Donna) won a Juno Award in 2013, and a complete recording of Handel’s Orlando was released in the fall of 2013, with an exciting group of international star soloists and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra performing.

Alexander Weimann was born in 1965 in Munich, where he studied the organ, church music, musicology (with a summa cum laude thesis on Bach’s secco recitatives), theatre, medieval Latin, and jazz piano, supported by a variety of

federal scholarships for the highly talented. In addition to his studies, he has attended numerous master classes in harpsichord and historical performance. To ground himself further in the roots of western music, he became intensely involved over the course of several years with Gregorian chant.

Alexander Weimann has just moved to the Vancouver area with his wife, 3 children and pets, and tries to spend as much time as possible in his garden and kitchen.

PATRICIA SHIH, Violinist, became a pupil of the legendary Josef Gingold at Indiana University at age 14. He described her as "one of the greatest talents that I have ever taught. Her great technique, inborn musicality, sense of style and virtuosity are unequalled." Patricia has appeared worldwide as soloist and recitalist in major halls including Wigmore Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York performing the Wieniawski Concerto No. 1 at age 15. The same year, she won the Special prize at the Wieniawski International Competition in Poland. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Sylva Gelber Award for the most outstanding young Canadian musician and the Mozarteum prize in Salzburg. Patricia has performed as guest soloist with major orchestras such as Royal Philharmonic, Halle Orchestra, Toronto, Singapore and Seattle Symphonies, National Orchestra of Mexico, Munich Chamber Orchestra and the Polish National Radio Orchestra. Her DVD of Vitali's Chaconne was featured on the Classic FM Channel across Europe. Recently, a half-hour documentary on Patricia's career was televised on the Biography Channel across North America.

Violin: Lorenzo Storioni (Cremona, c 1780)

NIKITA POGREBNOY, Violist, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia where he graduated from the world-famous St. Petersburg Conservatory with highest honors. He then came to the United States by the invitation of Victor Rosenbaum, the Director of the Longy School of Music who after hearing his performance, awarded him a full scholarship to study in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Nikita is the winner of the Valentino Bucchi International Competition in Rome, Italy. Since then he has appeared as both soloist and with various chamber ensembles across Russia, Spain, Central America and the United States. He has also performed at numerous festivals including the International Musical Arts Institute in Fryeburg, Maine, and the Colorado Music Festival among others. He has been broadcast on both television and radio in the United States, including the National Public Radio which aired nationwide.

Viola: Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza (Milano, 1791)

Renowned for her “rich and deep sound as well as her virtuosity and exceptional enthusiasm” (The Strad), violist Marina Thibeault invests the musical scene with an ever renewed fervor as a chamber musician, concert artist and soloist. Convinced that one must “undergo everything, experience everything, face all obstacles, all contradictions” (Pierre Perrault), she sails through the sometimes tumultuous waves of a carefully curated repertoire, approaching old and new works with the same commitment. Through her practice, she constantly questions the traditional place of the performer in order to embody a poetic approach as well as a quest to surpass herself physically and spiritually.

Marina Thibeault plays an English viola made by Gordon Kerr (2020) and wishes to thank the anonymous donor of the instrument.