“collectif9 takes the future of classical music by the hand, giving it a serious rejuvenation.”

ICI MUSIQUE

Laureate at the 2025 JUNOS and 'Performer of the Year' at the 2025 Prix Opus, Montreal string ensemble collectif9 is known for their innovative programming and approach to chamber music. The string nonet aims to promote classical music from a personal perspective, where new voices and interpretations are welcomed and encouraged, performing “with an infectious energy and vigour that grabs an audience’s attention” (The WholeNote). Since their 2011 debut, collectif9 has performed numerous concerts across North America, Europe, and Asia. As performers of classical and contemporary music, the ensemble combines the power of an orchestra with the agility of a chamber ensemble. collectif9 operates on the premise that a change of context can influence communication and experience.

collectif9 presents new programmes every season in Montréal, Canada, and their national and international touring schedule includes performances in chamber music series, festivals, universities, and more. Highlights include concerts in the Festival de Música de Morelia (Mexico), La Folle journée de Nantes (France), Festival de Lanaudière (Québec), Shenzhen Concert Hall (China), and Sound Unbound (Barbican Centre, London). The ensemble continually explores new repertoire and new artistic partnerships with composers, video artists, poets, lighting designers, and other inspired collaborators, to create multidisciplinary projects that come to life in acoustic or amplified settings.  

Rituæls (Analekta, 2024), the most recent album by collectif9, received a Juno Award and an Opus Award, and was a finalist at the Gala ADISQ. Released with European label Alpha Classics, the ensemble’s two previous albums were nominated at the Juno Awards in 2022 and 2023. Rituæls has been described as “a sensory landscape that evokes timelessness... the real, the important” (Pan M 360), No Time for Chamber Music as “sheer delight” (New Music Buff), and Vagues et ombres as “spellbinding” (Pan M 360), a “superb reinterpretation of Debussy” (Classique News). In addition to their albums, the group has released a series of three film-concerts, live performances filmed with a cinematographic approach, as well as a docu-concert (Ce qui nous lie, 2025) which reveals the group's creative process.  

Inspired by the processes of other artistic movements, collectif9 continually searches for new ways of expression within the classical medium, fostering communication and collaboration between artists of all kinds and members of society. The group is also committed to the preparation of specially-designed school shows and presentations, masterclasses, and workshops. Created specifically for their intended group, collectif9’s educational activities focus on energy, shared experiences, and exploration.  

collectif9 has received a great deal of support and encouragement, and is very grateful to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, and FACTOR.

Direction

Thibault Bertin-Maghit , general and artistic direction 
Andrea Stewart , associate general and artistic direction

2025-2026 Musicians

violins Chloé Chabanole, Scott Chancey, John Corban, Robert Margaryan, Camille Poirier-Lachance, TJ Skinner 
violas Cynthia Blanchon, Marilou Lepage 
cellos Marieve Bock, Juan Sebastian Delgado, Andrea Stewart 
double bass Thibault Bertin-Maghit  
guitar Steve Cowan 
marimba Krystina Marcoux 
drums Ronny Desinor 

Terry Clark joined The Conservatory at Mount Royal University in 2022. Clark has deep ties to the Calgary community and is excited to return to the Conservatory after spending a number of years abroad. Like his grandfather, he studied at The Conservatory as a youth before going on to the University of Calgary where he earned a Bachelor of Music in flute performance.

Clark joins MRU from the Royal College of Music in London, England where he obtained his PhD. Since then he has been researching and teaching at the College, in addition to managing its Performance Simulators. Clark brings a unique expertise to MRU having dedicated much of his time to performance development and psychology, and he is looking forward to exploring the potential of The Conservatory.

“The Conservatory has always had a very illustrious place in my mind and I am overjoyed to be returning as director,” he says. “The Conservatory is home to some of Calgary’s most talented musicians and I am looking forward to further developing their skills, while also bringing in some of my knowledge around performance psychology.”

Simon Thibault is the Non-Fiction Acquisitions Editor at Goose Lane Editions, Canada’s oldest independent book publisher. While there he has acquired travelogues, memoirs of survival and resilience, and biographies of long-lost family legacies. Based in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Simon is also an editor, having worked as a developmental and substantive editor on culinary memoirs, queer histories, and cultural legacies. His own work has been featured in The Globe and Mail, The Huffington Post, CBC Radio and Radio-Canada. His first book, Pantry and Palate: Remembering and Rediscovering Acadian Food, was shortlisted for the Taste Canada prize.