Artists of the season

Thomas Annand was a student of Graham Steed, John Grew, and Marie-Claire Alain.  In 1987 he won First Prize at the RCCO National Organ Competition and since then has pursued an active career as a performer on organ, harpsichord and as conductor. He has been Director of Music at St. Andrew’s Church, Ottawa since 1992, giving over 200 recitals there including a series of weekly recitals where he performed a vast repertoire including the ten symphonies of Widor, the complete organ works of Liszt, Franck and Mendelssohn.  As harpsichordist he performed all the major works of Bach in 7 marathon recitals in 2004-2005. He has performed as a soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Les Violons du Roy, touring with them to Carnegie Hall on three occasions.  He has been a featured artist in the Boston Early Music Festival, the Carmel Bach Festival, the International Congress of Organists and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. As a conductor he was the founder of Capital BrassWorks with whom he recorded for the CBC SM5000 series, and a frequent guest conductor of the Thirteen Strings. He has appeared on film (Denys Arcand’s Le Règne de la Beauté), radio and television.  In addition he has had his choral music published and performed and has contributed continuo realizations to editions of early music.  Thomas Annand is a Fellow of the RCCO for which he has worked as an examiner and a jury member for the Organ Playing Competition, and is a past-Chair of the Ottawa Centre.

Since October 2017, Louis-Pierre Bergeron is the proud 4th horn of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.  Previously, he was 3rd horn with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, 2nd horn with Orchestre Métropolitain, and solo horn with Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières.  He still collaborates frequently with Les Violons du Roy, in Québec City.  In Mars 2020, he will be soloist in Ferdinand Ries’ Concerto for two horns, with Louis-Philippe Marsolais and I Musici de Montréal.

Louis-Pierre studied with John Zirbel at McGill University and at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the natural horn with Teunis van der Zwart at the Amsterdam Conservatory.  An avid champion of the natural horn, he performed and recorded with prestigious early music ensembles, notably the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik and Europa Galante.

Equally active in pop music, Louis-Pierre Bergeron founded in 2015 the Montreal Horn Stars, a brass quintet for which he is also arranger.  The group collaborates with artists such as Patrick Watson, Bernard Adamus, Louis-Jean Cormier and Klô Pelgag.  They performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, at Francofolies de Montréal and at Festival d’été de Québec.

Louis-Pierre gives educational concerts with his woodwind quintet Ayorama, and for senior residents of healthcare establishments with Moon Palace, the duo he forms with his partner, the NACO cellist Julia MacLaine.

British tenor Samuel Boden has developed an international opera and concert career with particular success in the fields of early and contemporary music. He is a highly-regarded interpreter of Monteverdi, Bach, Handel, the French baroque as well as Britten.

Recent highlights include creating the roles of Boy and Young King in George Benjamin Lessons in love and violence at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden followed by performances at the Dutch National Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Opéra de Lyon and Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, as well as the title roles of Monteverdi L’Orfeo and Gluck Orphée et Euridyce for the Nederlandse Reisopera and Idamante in Campra Idoménée for Opéra de Lille.

He has sung several of the Rameau and Charpentier haute-contre parts as well as Cavalli L’Ormindo. Other roles include Oronte Alcina at the Karlsruhe Handel Festival, Poet in Thomas Larcher The Hunting Gun at Aldeburgh Festival, Anthony Sweeney Todd for Bergen National Opera and the title role Acis & Galatea at the Buxton Festival.

Samuel regularly appears with the foremost period ensembles: Collegium Vocale Gent under Philippe Herreweghe, Le Concert d’Astrée with Emmanuelle Haïm, Les Arts Florissants and William Christie, Les Musiciens du Louvre with Marc Minkowski and Wiener Akademie with Martin Haselböck.

French-Canadian mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne is acclaimed for the vocal agility and expressive power of her dark-hued tone, focusing on the works of Berlioz, Mozart, and Rossini. The Independent recently said, “Julie Boulianne’s Marguerite is gloriously sung, her sound replete with grace and power.”

In past seasons, Julie Boulianne has appeared as Marguerite in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust (Glyndebourne Festival, San Sebastián Music Festival, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Festival Opéra de Québec) Charlotte in Werther (Oper Frankfurt, Opéra de Québec, Ópera de Colombia), Juliette in Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette (Opéra national de Paris, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with Robin Ticciati, l’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, BBC Proms with Sir John Eliot Gardiner), the title role in Béatrice et Bénédict (Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse), Aloès in Chabrier’s L’Étoile (Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Dutch National Opera), Annio in La Clemenza di Tito (Opernhaus Zürich with Ottavio Dantone, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse), Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Vancouver Opera, Opéra de Montréal), the title role in La Cenerentola (Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges, Opéra de Montréal), the title role in Cendrillon (Opéra de Montréal, l’Opéra de Marseille), Sesto in Giulio Cesare (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Theater an der Wien, Aalto-Musiktheater, San Sebastián Music Festival), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées), Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Opéra de Québec), The Cabaret Singer and Bad Pupil in Philippe Boesmans Pinocchio (Festival Aix-en-Provence, La Monnaie de Munt, Opéra de Dijon), Giunone in Legrenzi’s La divisione del mondo (Opéra National du Rhin, Opéra National de Lorraine, Opéra Royal de Versailles), and Concepción in L’Heure espagnole (Angers Nantes Opéra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire).

At the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. Boulianne has appeared as Siébel in Faust, Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette conducted by Plácido Domingo, Diane in Stephen Wadsworth’s production of Iphigénie en Tauride, the Kitchen-Boy in Rusalka with Renée Fleming, and Ascanio in Francesca Zambello’s production of Les Troyens conducted by Fabio Luisi.

The fluidity and sensitivity of her playing and the richness of her sound incited the musicians of Pentaèdre to invite Ariane Brisson to join the ensemble in 2016. Since 2019, she has also served as Pentaèdre’s Artistic Director.

For close to twenty years, Ariane Brisson’s curiosity and creativity have been at the heart of her numerous artistic achievements. Selected in 2019 as one of the CBC’s “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30,” this young flutist stands out for the refinement of her interpretations. As Principal Flute with the Grands Ballets Canadiens Orchestra and the Orchestre symphonique de Drummondville, and as a regular collaborator with Les Violons du Roy chamber orchestra, she has performed throughout North America as well as in Europe and Asia. In recent seasons, Ariane Brisson has been invited to perform as a soloist with the Trois-Rivières and Drummondville symphony orchestras and with the Neues Zürcher Orchester. A passionate chamber musician, since 2015 she has enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with pianist Olivier Hébert-Bouchard. Together, the two artists have toured Canada (Jeunesses Musicales Canada, 2017–2018) and produced an album (Burlesques) in addition to being selected as finalists for the Opus Prize in the category “Concert of the Year: Modern and Contemporary Music” (2016–2017).

After completing her studies at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Marie-Andrée Benny, Ariane went on to refine her craft with flutist Mathieu Dufour in Chicago with the generous support of the Prix d’Europe, which she won in 2013. Her personal reflections on transverse flute performance and pedagogy led to doctoral studies in the Faculty of Music at the Université de Montréal under the tutelage of Jean-François Rivest and Michel Duchesneau. Since 2019, she teaches flute and gives lectures at that same institution.

Ariane Brisson wishes to extend special thanks to the Prix d’Europe Foundation (2013), the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec (CALQ), the Sylva-Gelber Foundation, the Observatoire interdisciplinaire de création et de recherche en musique (OICRM), and to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) — all of which have proven essential to her ambitions and various artistic projects. Ariane plays both on a Yamaha transverse flute made of grenadilla wood, as well as on a Powell 10K flute graciously loaned by Canimex Inc. (Drummondville, Canada), property of the patron Roger Dubois.

Hailed for her generous stage presence and expressive voice, Montreal-born soprano Andréanne Brisson Paquin is equally devoted to several different musical genres, singing baroque, classical, operatic and even contemporary repertoire with the same commitment, rigour, and excitement.

Andréanne has sung with many of the great chamber music and baroque ensembles, including montreal based I Musici, Pallade Musica, Arion, Ensemble Caprice, Voix humaines and also Musica Angelica (Los Angeles), Musica and Rhenum (Amsterdam), Ensemble Masques (Paris), Ensemble Odyssee (Amsterdam), with whom she recorded a debut recording (Serenate Napoletane, PanClassic) She was heard at Festival de Lanaudière, Lufthansa Baroque Festival, Berliner Tage für Alte Musik, Festival de musique baroque de Pontoise, Festival Classica, Montréal Baroque, Festival Bach and Festival Classica. She has worked with conductors and instrumentalists such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jory Vinikour, Jed Wentz, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Lorenzo Coppola, Martin Haselbock, Nicolas Ellis, and performed with Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montreal, Grand Ballets de Montreal Orchestra and Orchestre de l'Agora.

A fine recitalist, Andréanne's sensitivity shines in the intimacy of chamber music repertoire. She has given many recitals, and has won national and international prizes in collaboration with pianists Michel-Alexandre Broekaert, Matthieu Fortin, and Francis Perron. These awards include the Audience Prize award at Mary Trueman Art Song Competition in New York, Guy-Soucie Excellence Award, 2nd Prize at Concours International de Musique de Chambre de Lyon, 2nd Prize at Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition for Canadian and Contemporary Music, and 2nd Prize and Duo Prize at the New York Joy in Singing Competition. She was also a finalist at the prestigious Montréal International Musical Competition 2012, where she performed with Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

In 2013, Andréanne founded Rendez-vous Baroque Français, a group of musicians that specializes in French baroque music from the 17th and 18th centuries. She also recently performed the title role in the French opera Lakmé and the role of Mélisande in Projet Pelléas, two productions created by Montréal’s collective 1 Opera/ 1 Heure.

Andréanne completed her vocal studies at Université de Montréal before pursuing a Masters degree in the Netherlands at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, graduating in October 2010.

Martin Carpentier earned his Bachelor’s in Clarinet Performance, magna cum laude, from McGill University, where he studied with Emilio Iacurto. He went on to serve as Principal Clarinet with the Orchestre des jeunes du Québec. After studying under Karl Leister (Principal Clarinet with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) in 1992 and subsequently obtained his Master’s Degree in Performance from the Université de Montréal, under the supervision of André Moisan.

A highly sought-after clarinetist, Martin Carpentier is a member of Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM) and of Pentaèdre. He also performs regularly with the Orchestre Métropolitain, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Opéra de Montréal, Les Violons du Roy and I Musici de Montréal, and has recorded CDs with Société des vents de Montréal, Pentaèdre and NEM.

Martin teaches clarinet at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM), the Université de Montréal and at Collège Vincent-d’Indy.

After reading Archaeology at St John’s College, Cambridge, Iestyn Davies studied at the Royal Academy of Music, London.

An esteemed Handelian, he has delighted audiences globally with his vocal agility in roles such as Bertarido, Orlando, Rinaldo, Ottone Agrippina and David Saul. Committed also to contemporary music, his intelligent and considered interpretations have led to fruitful collaborations with Thomas Adés, George Benjamin and Nico Muhly.

On the opera stage, he has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Teatro alla Scala Milan; the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; English National Opera; Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Welsh National Opera; Teatro Real Madrid; Salzburg Festival and in Munich, Vienna and Zurich. Highlights in the 2021/22 season included Arsace Partenope in Madrid, Ottone Agrippina in Hamburg and Munich and Bertarido Rodelinda for the Metropolitan Opera, New York.

Concert engagements have included performances at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan with Dudamel, the Concertgebouw and Tonhalle with Koopman and at the Barbican, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Lincoln Centre, Carnegie Hall and at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall with orchestras that include the New York Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, English Concert, Britten Sinfonia, Concerto Köln, Concerto Copenhagen, Ensemble Matheus, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Recent highlights include a French tour of Handel Duets with Ensemble Jupiter; and Bach’s Mass in B minor and Handel’s Radamisto with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in California.

In the 2022/23 season, highlights include a world premiere production of music by Dowland at the Barbican with lutenist Thomas Dunford, featuring visuals by Netia Jones, concerts at Carnegie Hall, New York and the Berliner Philharmonie, and Ottone L’incoronazione di Poppea in Versailles.

An outstanding recitalist, he has performed in Vienna, Tokyo, Paris and New York in repertoire ranging from Dowland to Clapton. He is a regular favourite at London’s Wigmore Hall and Kings Place where he has curated residencies.

His recital discs have won three Gramophone Awards, and he performed on the Grammy-winning recording of Thomas Adès’s The Tempest. He is the recipient of a Royal Philharmonic Society Award and was nominated for an Olivier Award for his singing role in Farinelli and the King opposite Mark Rylance (premiered at London’s Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, transferring to Broadway). Iestyn is also featured on soundtracks for the Ridley Scott films Kingdom of Heaven and The Last Duel singing the music of Harry Gregson-Williams. In 2017 he was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his services to music.

With playing described as having “bracing virtuosity” (Chicago Classical Review) and being “fearless and extraordinary” (Amarillo-Globe News), Isabelle Demers has enraptured critics, presenters, and audience members around the globe.

She has appeared in recital throughout Europe, Oman, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada, including at the Cathedrals of Cologne and Regensburg (Germany); the ElbPhilharmonie (Hamburg); the Royal Festival Hall, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey (London); City Hall (Stockholm); the Royal Opera House of Muscat (Oman); the Forbidden City Concert Hall (Beijing, China); Victoria Hall (Singapore); Melbourne Town Hall (Australia); Auckland Town Hall (New Zealand); Disney Hall (Los Angeles), Davies Hall (San Francisco), the Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas), the Kimmel Center, and the Wanamaker Organ at Macy’s (Philadelphia); and the Maison Symphonique (Montréal).

Dr. Demers is in continual high demand by her colleagues as witnessed by performances for numerous regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Institute of Organ Builders and International Society of Organbuilders, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the Organ Historical Society. She has released multiple CD recordings on the Acis and Pro Organo labels. Her latest CD, recorded at Chicago’s Rockefeller Chapel, was released in January 2020, and includes works of Reger, Laurin, Dupré, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Macmillan.

A native of Québec and a doctoral graduate of the Juilliard School, Dr. Demers was recently appointed Associate Professor of Organ at McGill University (Montréal, Québec). She was formerly the Joyce Bowden Chair in Organ and Head of the Organ Program at Baylor University (Waco, Texas).

Canadian soprano Sheila Dietrich is a versatile and in-demand performer whose style and vocal technique shine in both concert and operatic roles.

Ms. Dietrich has appeared as a concert soloist with ensembles across Canada including Les Violons du Roy, the Calgary Philharmonic, The Menno Singers, Nota Bene Baroque Players, The Toronto Classical Singers, The Elora Festival Singers and The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, The Guelph Chamber Choir, and The Bach Elgar Choir.

Operatic roles include Rose (Ruddigore | Sullivan), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors | Menotti), Pitti-Sing (The Mikado | Sullivan), Belinda (Dido & Aeneas | Purcell), Venus (La Dafne | Gagliano), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Britten), Abigail Williams (The Crucible | Ward) and La Petite Chaperon Rouge (La Foret Bleue | Aubert).

An Ontario native, Ms. Dietrich received her Bachelor of Music Performance and Opera Diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University where she studied with Victor Martens.

In 2015, Ms. Dietrich made her Carnegie Hall debut as a featured soloist in an evening devoted to the music of Purcell under the direction of Richard Egarr. She was also a finalist in the 2015 New York Oratorio Society Solo Competition and was awarded the Johannes Somary Prize.

Sheila is also a member of Capella Intima, an Ontario based ensemble, which specializes in performing vocal chamber and operatic music of the 17th century in exciting concerts of rarely-heard gems. The ensemble recently finished recording their third CD called “Music in the time of Plague” featuring the music of Heinrich Schütz and the music popular during his time in Venice.

She currently in Staunton, Virginia, with her husband, her cats, and several overly full bookshelves.

Tenor Philippe Gagné is praised for his rich expressiveness, refined musical sensitivity, rare vocal agility, and the beauty of his tone. Specialized in the baroque repertoire, he has performed on many of the world's great venues and has worked with many renowned ensembles such as Les Talens Lyriques, Tafelmusik, Les Violons du Roy, Arion Orchestre Baroque, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, L’Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Les Délices, Les Boréades, Blue Heron, L’Harmonie des saisons, Ensemble Caprice, Le Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Ex Tempore, La Bande Montréal Baroque, Clavecin en concert, Mannheimer Hofkapelle et Apotheosis Orchestra. He is recognized as an exceptional interpreter of the French Baroque repertoire, as well as of the music of J. S. Bach, who occupies more than half of his professional engagements. His constant presence on the baroque scene and his numerous past and future engagements testify to his undeniable talent in this community.

Here are some of his most notable participations in recent years:

Recently, in September 2022, he joined the ensemble Clavecin en concert under the direction of Hervé Niquet to present a superb selection of Grands Motets by M.A. Charpentier. Philippe is a regular guest of the ensemble L'Harmonie des saisons under the direction of Eric Milnes. For the past two years he has joined them to present several works by J.S. Bach, including a webcast concert of tenor arias from the sacred cantatas, the Magnificat, the St. John Passion, and several cantatas. In July 2022, he presented a concert of arias with them at the Music & Beyond Festival in Ottawa, entitled Music for the King's Chamber. In November and December 2022, he joined them for a tour of Handel's Messiah, a McCartney Baroque program (a concert to celebrate the 80th birthday of the famous Beatles member), as well as for Noëls anciens de l'ancien et nouveau monde, a special program conceived at the request of Radio-Canada, which selected this ensemble to represent Canada in a EuroRadio Christmas special, presented by European radio stations and their partner stations.

In November 2021, Philippe presented, with the talented guitarist David Jacques, a magnificent program of 19th century Spanish songs at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur in Montreal. They will perform this concert again in Quebec City and Prévost in early 2023.

June 2019, he was at the Cydonia Barocca Festival in Ghent, Belgium and then at the Alter Musik Festival in Regensburg, Germany. In August, he was at the MAfestival in Bruges, Belgium for a stage production of J.P. Rameau’s Pygmalion. This presentation also served as the official launch for the recording of this work, recorded in November 2018 in Brussels with Apotheosis Orchestra conducted by Korneel Bernolet (Ramée/Outhere label). This recording was acclaimed by European critics from all sides. 

In 2018, in Belgium, he took part in a recording of Graupner’s cantatas under CPO label with Ex Tempore (conducted by Florian Heyerick). In Montreal, he played the title role in Charpentier’s opera Actéon in a stage production by the ensemble Clavecin en Concert (conducted by Luc Beauséjour). He was also invited by the Talens Lyriques under the direction of Christophe Rousset for concerts (Rameau and Campra) at the Philharmonie de Paris and at the Barokkfest Early Music Festival in Oslo. 

In 2017, in Montreal, Philippe played the role of Lidio in the first world premiere since 1681 of the pastoral opera Nicandro e Fileno by Franco-Italian composer Paolo Lorenzani with the Nouvel Opéra and Les Boréades. This project was also recorded under ATMA Classique label. 

In 2016, he toured Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium) for concert projects and recordings on the CPO label with Ex Tempore. He was also the recipient of a 2016 JUNO award for his participation in the recording Las Ciudades de Oro de L’Harmonie des Saisons (ATMA Classique). 

In 2014, he was one of the winners of the Bruce Haynes CBC International Competition, dedicated to the performance of the vocal works of J.S. Bach. Consequently, he was soloist on two CDs dedicated to Bach’s sacred cantatas (ATMA Classique) with the Montreal Baroque Band (conducted by Eric Milnes).

Upcoming, in March 2023, Philippe will be the guest of the Orchestre Métropolitain, under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. They will present a program of J.S. Bach cantatas as part of the complete J.S. Bach cantatas - Year 8 in Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

A virtuoso with a warm, elegant style and a wide-ranging repertoire, pianist David Jalbert has established himself among the elite of his generation of classical musicians, and was named by the CBC among the 15 best Canadian pianists of all time. With his personal style, incomparable stage presence, and refined ear, he has wowed audiences and critics everywhere: “Playing that oozes hedonistic charm” (Gramophone); “In an age of knucle-busting keyboard technicians fixated on a single era, composer or concerto, it is a great pleasure to encounter an artist of Jalbert’s stature for whom the piano is simply a transcendent means of human expression” (WholeNote); “A virtuoso in the best sense of the word” (La Presse); “Wide-ranging musical imagination, phenomenal technique, and an unerring lightness of being” (The Toronto Star).

His first solo disc, dedicated to the works of Corigliano and Rzewski (in preparation for which he worked with both composers), was launched to great applause on Endeavor in 2004 and was followed in 2006 by a recording of Fauré’s complete Nocturnes (a winning selection on La Tribune des Critiques de Disques, France-Culture). His first release on the ATMA Classique label, Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues opus 87, drew rave reviews, won an Opus Award, and was nominated for a Juno Award. He followed it up with an album dedicated to works by minimalist greats John Adams and Philip Glass (2010), and his 2012 recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations was met with unanimous praise. He returned to his beloved early 20th-century repertoire for Le Comble de la distinction (Poulenc and Satie, 2015) and Stravinsky-Prokofiev Ballet Transcriptions in 2017, another Juno-nominated outing. He recorded the keyboard version of Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ in 2019 and is now at work on an ambitious 3-disc set of the complete Prokofiev Piano Sonatas.

An accomplished chamber musician in both the hall and the studio, he has collaborated with Pentaèdre on recordings of Poulenc and Hindemith’s music for woodwinds and piano, and with his long-standing musical partner Denise Djokic on many projects, among which the Chopin and Rachmaninov Cello Sonatas. His piano trio, Triple Forte, with Ms. Djokic and violinist Jasper Wood, has toured extensively and won the 2014 Prix Opus (Album of the Year). Jalbert has also collaborated with violinists Nicola Benedetti and Rachel Barton Pine, the Cecilia and Alcan string quartets, double-bassist Joel Quarrington (on another Opus-winning collaboration, the album Brothers in Brahms) as well as with pianists Anton Kuerti, Wonny Song and Jean-Philippe Collard.

As guest soloist, Jalbert has appeared with many orchestras, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre Métropolitain, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, Bielefelder Philharmoniker, National Symphony of Ireland, Les Violons du Roy and others. He has collaborated with conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Skitch Henderson, Jacques Lacombe, Bramwell Tovey, Mario Bernardi, Peter Kuhn, David Currie, Christoph Campestrini, Dinuk Wijeratne, Tania Miller and others and has performed in Canada, the United States, Mexico, South Africa and Europe. Jalbert’s repertoire is expansive, and he plays Bach, Brahms, Stravinsky or Ligeti with equal pleasure. He has been heard regularly on CBC Radio and Radio-Canada broadcasts, not only as a pianist, but also as a guest host or commentator for special events.

A national and international prize-winner, David Jalbert was the 2007 winner of the prestigious Virginia Parker Prize of the Canada Council for the Arts, has been awarded six Prix Opus by the Conseil Québécois de la Musique, was nominated for four Juno Awards, and is now Full Professor and Head of Piano at the University of Ottawa and on faculty at the Orford Music Academy. He holds two Artist Diplomas from the Juilliard School in New York and from the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. He received his Masters Degree from Université de Montréal at age 21, winning the Governor General’s Gold Medal (awarded yearly to the top graduate student of the University). His main teachers have been Jerome Lowenthal, Marc Durand, André Laplante, and Pauline Charron. He has also worked with Leon Fleisher, John Perry, Claude Frank, Gilbert Kalish, and Marylin Engle.

American soprano Robin Johannsen has established an international career both on the opera stage and in concert and has become known for her special affinity for the Baroque and Classical repertoires. Robin began her career as a young artist with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, after which she joined Oper Leipzig.

Robin has appeared at Theater an der Wien, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Athens’ Megaron, Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro Regio Torino, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Frankfurt, Vlaamse Opera, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Komische Oper Berlin, and Bayreuth Festival, where roles have included Susanna Le nozze di Figaro, Norina Don Pasquale, Oscar Un ballo in maschera, Venere/Giuturna Amor vien dal destino, title role Almira, Soeur Constance Les dialogues des Carmélites, Marzelline Beethoven’s Leonore Konstanze Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Fiordiligi Così fan tutte, the title role of Telemann’s Emma und Eginhard, and Adina L’elisir d’amore.

She has a close working relationship with René Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester, and is a frequent guest with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, La Cetra Basel, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, Concerto Köln, Kammerakademie Potsdam, La Folia Barockorchester and Belgium’s B’Rock. She has also collaborated with conductors such as Marin Alsop, Teodor Currentzis, Ottavio Dantone, Antonello Manacorda, Andrea Marcon, Alessandro De Marchi, Raphaël Pichon, Jérémie Rhorer, Thomas Hengelbrock, David Afkham Philippe Herreweghe, Christian Thielemann, Stefan Gottfried, Manfred Honeck, Daniel Reuss, Ton Koopman, Nicholas McGegan, Hans Christoph Rademann, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and Philippe Jordan.

Robin’s numerous concert engagements have included performances with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Dresden Philharmonic, OSESP São Paolo, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Ensemble Pygmalion, Academy of Ancient Music, RIAS Kammerchor, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, NDR Hannover, Helsinki Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, and Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España as well as at the Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Essen Philharmonie, Gasteig Munich, Konzerthaus Berlin, Lucerne Festival, Paris Philharmonie, the Vatican, Salzburg’s Mozarteum and Groβes Festspielhaus, Tonhalle Zürich, Elbphilharmonie, the Wiener Musikverein and Santa Cecilia in Rome.

Jean-François Lapointe grew up in Quebec’s Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean area and is today regarded as one of the finest baritones of his generation. Since his debut in 1983 he has appeared on the great stages of Europe, including Paris, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Vienna, Zurich, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Glasgow, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Berlin, Liège, and Toulouse, as well as in the Americas and Japan.

Among his signature roles is the title role in Pelléas et Mélisande, which he sang in the celebrated reworking by Peter Brook and in the Canadian Opera Company production in Toronto, that of Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, and at Opéra nationale de Bordeaux, as well as in Bonn, Cincinnati, Bordeaux, Marseille, Toulouse, Toulon, and most recently at La Scala in Milan. Other appearances in the role include Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has also sung title roles in Hamlet with the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, Eugene Onegin with Opéra de Quebec, Don Giovanni in Trieste and Marseille, and Werther at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels.

In addition to his work on the stage, Jean-François is sought after as a concert artist. His interpretations of Duparc, Fauré, and Poulenc are highly regarded as are his appearances with some of the world’s great orchestras. Highlights were his performances with Orchestre National de France for Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini (as Fieramosca) and Béatrice et Bénedict (with Sir Colin Davis) and Debussy’s La Chute de la maison Usher. He joined Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg for L’Enfance du Christ, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra for Les Pêcheurs de perles (as Zurga at the Concertgebouw), and the BBC Symphony for Les Mamelles de Tirésias (as Le Mari) and Fauré’s Requiem. Recent performances include Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, Debussy’s L’Enfant prodigue, and Fauré’s Requiem with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.

Jean-François can be heard in a recording of Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini with Orchestre National de France and in other recorded productions such as Massenet’s Le Mage and Saint-Saëns’s Ascanio. Other releases include Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et de la mer and an album of Paul Verlaine’s poetry in settings by Fauré, Debussy, Reynaldo Hahn, and André Mathieu.

Young coloratura soprano Myriam Leblanc is the recipient of several prizes: first prize and Audience Choice Award at the Trois-Rivières Symphony Orchestra Competition, Young Lyric Ambassador 2014 (Québec Bavaria prize), winner of an Audience Choice Award in the Center Stage competition of the Canadian Opera Company, third prize in the Auditions Nouvelles Découvertes competition of the Ottawa Choral Society, winner of the excellence grant awarded annually by the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal, and first prize in the Mathieu Duguay Early Music Competition at the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival in 2017. Myriam is a versatile artist who is equally at home in the classical repertoire as in bel canto and Baroque. She is recognized for her pure timbre, her supple and warm voice, and her technical and expressive mastery.

She has shone in the roles of Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto (Opéra de Montréal), Micaëla in Carmen by Bizet (Opéra de Québec), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera in Saskatoon), Milica in Svadba by Sokolovic (Opéra de Montréal), the Flower Girl in Parsifal by Wagner (Orchester Métropolitain), the High Priestess in Aïda by Verdi (Opera de Montréal) and Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (Jeunesses Musicales du Canada). She also specializes in oratorios and concert singing and has sung Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” (Ensemble Caprice), Dixit Dominus by Vivaldi (I Musici), Bach’s Magnificat (Les Violons du Roy), Symphony No. 2 “Lobgesang” by Mendelssohn (Orchestre Métropolitain), several cantatas by Bach including “Ich habe genug,” and various other works.

Recently appointed Artistic Director of Arion Baroque Orchestra, Mathieu Lussier has been associated with les Violons du Roy as Conductor-in-residence in 2012, and Associate Conductor from 2014 to 2018, Lussier has led the orchestra in concerts in Quebec, and on tour in greater Canada, the United States, Mexico and Brazil, collaborating with artists such as Marc-André Hamelin, Philippe Jarrousky, Alexandre Tharaud, Jeremy Denk, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Julia Lezhneva, Anthony Marwood and Karina Gauvin. Previous appointments include Artistic Director and Conductor of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival, where he served from 2008 to 2014. As a soloist, Mathieu Lussier has energetically and passionately promoted the modern and baroque bassoon as solo instruments for more than two decades throughout North America and Europe. He also devotes considerable time to chamber music as a member of ensemble Pentaèdre de Montréal. Since the summer of 2014, he has been Professor at Université de Montréal. His numerous solo recordings include over a dozen bassoon concertos (Mozart, Vivaldi, Fasch, Graupner, Telemann, and Corrette), a CD of bassoon sonatas by Boismortier, three CDs of music for solo bassoon by François Devienne, and two CDs of wind music by Gossec and Méhul. Mathieu Lussier is also a respected composer, with a catalogue of over 50 titles heard regularly in the concert halls of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In 2018, He composed the score for « La chute de l’empire américain » from Oscar winner Denys Arcand. In August 2009, his piece Bassango, in its version for bassoon and string orchestra, won the third prize in the Contemporary Classical Song category at the Just Plain Folks Awards of Nashville, Tennessee. Mathieu Lussier’s music has been recorded on numerous occasions and is broadcast all around the world. “Dos Tropicos,” a wind quintet written in 2001, has been performed over 100 times in Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom. His compositions are published by Trevco Music (USA), Accolade (Germany), June Emerson (UK) and Gérard Billaudot (France).

A member of Pentaèdre since 2002, Louis-Philippe Marsolais’ exceptional technical mastery and musicality have brought inestimable richness to the ensemble.

Formerly Principal Horn with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Associate Principal Horn with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and Third Horn with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Louis-Philippe Marsolais currently serves as Principal Horn with the Orchestre Métropolitain. A renowned recitalist, concert performer and chamber musician, he performs regularly throughout North America, Europe and Asia. A winner of three prizes at the prestigious Munich Competition in September 2005, he has also received numerous awards at international competitions, including the Geneva Competition, Mozart Competition in Rovereto and the Trévoux International Horn Competition.

As a soloist, he has performed on several occasions with the Montreal, Quebec, Trois-Rivières, Longueuil and Peterborough symphony orchestras, the Orchestre Métropolitain, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Munich, Geneva, Neuchâtel, Zürich and Montreal chamber orchestras, the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano, Les Violons du Roy and the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec.

Louis-Philippe Marsolais has cultivated a special interest in contemporary music and has premiered several works by Canadian, Swiss, German and French composers for solo horn, horn and band or for chamber music ensemble. He is also Associate Professor at the Faculty of Music of Université de Montréal.

Anthony Marwood enjoys a wide-ranging international career as soloist, director and chamber musician. Recent solo engagements include performances with the Boston Symphony, St Louis Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, New World Symphony, London Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Spain, Adelaide Symphony and Sydney Symphony. He has worked with conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Sir Andrew Davis, Thomas Søndergård, David Robertson, Gerard Korsten, Ilan Volkov, Jaime Martin and Douglas Boyd. 

Recent highlights have included his debut at the Tanglewood Festival in the USA, playing Ligeti’s violin concerto, conducted by Thomas Adès. He returned to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, National Orchestra of Spain, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Trondheim Soloists, Halle Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Adelaide Symphony, as well as performing at La Jolla SummerFest and the Yellow Barn, Portland and Bridgehampton Festivals in the USA. As a chamber musician he has a wide circle of regular collaborators including Steven Isserlis, Aleksandar Madžar, Inon Barnatan, Alexander Melnikov, Denes Varjon and James Crabb. In November 2023 he will be the Artistic Director of UKARIA 24, a long weekend festival at a beautiful concert hall in the Adelaide Hills.

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Many leading composers have written concertos for him, including Thomas Adès (Anthony also made the first recording of his violin concerto, for EMI) Steven Mackey, Sally Beamish and Samuel Carl Adams. Anthony is a prolific recording artist, and his most recent release – his 50th on the Hyperion label – is a recording of Walton’s Violin Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins. The disc received wide critical acclaim, including a 5-star review in The Guardian and a ‘Recommended Recording’ in The Strad Magazine, whilst the Sunday Times described him as “a thrilling, virtuosic soloist”.

Anthony, who resides in Sussex and Amsterdam, is co-Artistic Director of the Peasmarsh Chamber Music Festival in East Sussex, which celebrates its 25th Anniversary in 2023. He performs annually at the Yellow Barn Festival in Vermont and enjoys a close association with the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. He was appointed an MBE in the 2018 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List and was made a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music in 2013.

Mélisande McNabney performs keyboard music of all periods, on harpsichord, piano and fortepiano. In August 2015, she received the third prize at the International Competition Musica Antiqua in Bruges. She is a graduate of the Amsterdam Conservatory where she studied harpsichord, continuo and fortepiano in the classes of Bob van Asperen and Richard Egarr. She was granted her Doctorate degree at McGill University in May 2017, under the guidance of Hank Knox and Tom Beghin, thanks to the support of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program.

Mélisande McNabney is regularly invited to play with ensembles such as Les Violons du Roy, Arion Orchestre Baroque, Les Idées heureuses, Theater of Early Music and Ensemble Caprice. She is a member of Pallade Musica and Les Songes, with whom she took part in numerous tours of Canada and the USA. Mélisande McNabney has received scholarships from Canada Council for the Arts, Banff Centre, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and Fonds de recherche société et culture du Québec.

Firmly positioned as a leading exponent of his instrument, Miloš has appeared in some of the most important concert halls and at major festivals around the world, including with the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra.

His first three releases on Deutsche Grammophon achieved chart-topping successes around the globe and turned him into “classical music’s guitar hero” (BBC Music Magazine) overnight. His recording of Rodrigo’s concerto with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the London Philharmonic had the Sunday Times calling him “The King of Aranjuez”, while his record, Blackbird–The Beatles Album — including duets with Gregory Porter, Tori Amos, Steven Isserlis, and Anoushka Shankar – was released to unanimous praise. Miloš’ 2019 album, Sound of Silence, joined his previous albums, in reaching No. 1 on the UK Classical charts, and on Amazon.

Miloš is the first ever classical guitarist to have performed in solo recital at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Guardian commenting: “More extraordinary by far was the way a single guitarist could shrink the Hall’s cavernous space into something so close.” The Independent concluded: “not only a magician, but a serious and accomplished musician”.

In August 2018 Miloš made a triumphant return to the hall. In front of 6000 people at the BBC Proms, he performed the world premiere of Joby Talbot’s guitar concerto, Ink Dark Moon written especially for him, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Committed to commissioning new repertoire for the guitar, Miloš joined the NAC Ottawa in May 2019 to perform another concerto written especially for him, ‘The Forest’ by Howard Shore.

In 2021, Miloš released his sixth album The Moon and the Forest, featuring the Talbot and Shore concerti as well as Ludovico Einaudi’s ‘Full Moon’ and Schumann’s ‘Traumerei’. This latest album marks Miloš’s 10-year anniversary with Decca and was hailed by Gramophone as offering “new perspectives on the relationship between guitar and orchestra, performed with conviction and elan”.

Valérie Milot is a musician and entrepreneur who walks an unconventional career path. Championing her instrument into the spotlight, she reinvents the harp and its clichés, putting forth its powerful sound and astonishing colours.

A sought-after soloist, Valérie regularly performs a rich solo repertoire with prestigious orchestras (Les Violons du Roy, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal) and with reputed conductors (Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bernard Labadie, Nicolas Ellis, Mathieu Lussier, Jean-François Rivest, amongst others). An active musician online, her YouTube channel boasts over three million views.

2022 marks the addition of two albums to an already vast catalogue: Canzone di Notte, featuring a duo with the coloratura soprano Marianne Lambert (Fidelio) and Transfiguration, a collaboration with the cellist Stéphane Tétreault (ATMA Classique), as well as participating in many recordings and chamber music concerts.

On the production front, Valérie manages two companies that oversee projects encompassing original production, touring, music publication, and CD production.

An eager pedagogue, Valérie is a professor of harp at the Montreal Conservatory of Music. There, she heads numerous projects in line with her mission of increasing the harp’s discoverability.

After obtaining her Prix avec Grande Distinction upon completion of her studies at the Conservatory with Caroline Lizotte in 2008, she is awarded the Prix d’Europe. The first harpist to win the prize in almost a century, this esteemed award allows her to further her studies with Rita Costanzi in New York. Her accomplishments continue thereafter, where she is named Révélation Radio-Canada and receives multiple prizes.

Valérie plays on an “Apollonia” harp by Salvi, graciously loaned to her by the Canimex company of Drummondville and belonging to the patron of the arts Roger Dubois.

A unique ensemble in Quebec's musical landscape, Pentaèdre explores and introduces the public to a varied and original chamber music repertoire from the great tradition of music for winds. Co-founded in 1985 by Normand Forget (oboe), Guy Pelletier (flute), Gilles Plante (clarinet), Michel Bettez (bassoon) and Francis Ouellet (horn), the ensemble also welcomed flutist Danièle Bourget aboard for many years.

Pentaèdre is currently made up of five talented performers whose technique and precision are unanimously acclaimed: Ariane Brisson (flute), Élise Poulin (oboe), Martin Carpentier (clarinet), Louis-Philippe Marsolais (horn) and Mathieu Lussier (bassoon).

Over the years, the ensemble has collaborated with renowned performers including tenors Christoph Prégardien and Rufus Müller, baritones Russell Braun and Phillip Addis, soprano Karina Gauvin, pianists Naida Cole, David Jalbert, Iwan Llewelyn-Jones and Charles Richard-Hamelin. Pentaèdre has also teamed up with renowned chamber music ensembles such as the Penderecki String Quartet, Quatuor Arthur-LeBlanc, Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, Quintette à vent de Marseille, Azahar Ensemble and Slowind, and has performed widely in Canada, Europe, the US and Middle East.  

Pentaèdre’s seven recordings to date include a chamber version of Schubert’s Winterreise by Normand Forget, awarded the Opus Prize in 2008, and an arrangement of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, nominated at the ADISQ gala in 2014. To these accolades are added excellent reviews of the ensemble’s original performances L’amour est un opéra muet and A Chair in Love, as well as an Opus Prize in 2002 in the category “Concert of the Year: New, Contemporary and Electroacoustic Music.” In 2017, pursuing its commitment to developing and disseminating repertoire for wind quintet, Pentaèdre instituted the Fonds Normand Forget, whose mission is to support the creation of new works, both locally and internationally.

Élise Poulin began her oboe studies at École secondaire Joseph-François-Perrault. Very early in her career, she had the opportunity to perform as a sub with several orchestras throughout Quebec: the Orchestre symphonique de Laval, Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil, Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, I Musici chamber orchestra and many others. In addition to orchestral music, Élise’s English horn playing is featured in the film Les Petits Cochons 2, music by Martin Léon. She has also enjoyed many collaborations with the École de danse contemporaine.

Élise Poulin has been awarded bursaries by the Fondation Pierre Rolland, the Canadian program Stingray Rising Star and the Fondation du Père-Lindsay. She also received a scholarship from the latter Foundation to attend HEC-Montréal’s Formation en affaires et développement de carrière pour musiciens (Business Training and Career Development for Musicians) program.

Élise studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal (class of Lise Beauchamp), where she obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in addition to completing the Concours in chamber music. She also studied at the Conservatoire Boulogne-Vaillancourt in Paris in the class of oboist Olivier Doise, as well as at the Université de Montréal under Vincent Boilard.

Élise teaches oboe at École secondaire Pierre Laporte, École secondaire St-Edmond as well as the Coopérative des professeurs de musique de Montréal.

After studying at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMD) and the University of Vienna, Anna Reinhold made her stage debut under the direction of William Christie, as part of his academy, "Le Jardin des Voix"; this was followed by numerous engagements with Les Arts Florissants, in Europe and America.

She now collaborates regularly with many conductors and ensembles: Leonardo García Alarcón (Cappella Mediterranea), Raphaël Pichon (Pygmalion), Laurence Equilbey (Accentus and Insula Orchestra), Jonathan Cohen (Balearic Islands Simphony Orchestra, Arcangelo ensemble, Orchestre d'Auvergne), Vincent Dumestre (Le Poème Harmonique), Simon-Pierre Bestion (La Tempête), Ryan Brown (Lafayette Opera), John Butt (Edinburgh Orchestra), Josh van Veldhoven (Bachvereniging), Andrea Marcon (La Cetra Barockorchester Basel)...

At the Opera, she sang the title role of L'Italiana in Algeri (Rossini) and Mélisande (Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande) at the Atelier lyrique de Tourcoing, L'Italiana in Algeri again, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Cybèle (Lully's Atys) at the Opéra Royal de Versailles and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Menesto (Cavalli's Elena) at the Festival d'Aix en Provence, Pandora (Draghi's El Prometeo) at the Opéra de Dijon, Adèle and Al Cirbec (Le Mystère de l'écureuil bleu by Marc-Olivier Dupin) at the Opéra Comique in Paris, or the Second Camerist (Le Nain by Zemlinsky) at the Théâtre de Caen.

Particularly appreciated for her interpretations in concerts and chamber music repertoire, Anna Reinhold is a regular guest at festivals such as Les Musicales de Colmar (Schönberg's   Pierrot Lunaire, Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ...), the Kaposvar Festival and the Budapest Festival Academy in Hungary, the Cork Festival in Ireland; she recently sang the cantata Phaedra (Britten) with the Orchestre rérgional de Normandie and performs in duet with guitarist and lutenist Quito Gato, in both baroque ("Lagrime mie") and popular ("Mi corazón espanol") programs.

She also founded the ensemble "Il Caravaggio" with harpsichordist Camille Delaforge, which can be heard in France and abroad, in French and Italian baroque repertoires.

Anna Reinhold made numerous recordings, notably with Raphaël Pichon and the Pygmalion ensemble (Bach's Hohe Messe), lutenist Thomas Dunford ("Labirinto d'Amore"), Cappella Mediterranea conducted by Leonardo García Alarcón ("Heroines of the Venetian Baroque"), William Christie's Les Arts Florissants (« N’espérez plus, mes yeux », « Bien que l'Amour », « Si vous vouliez un jour »), or the ensemble Il Caravaggio (« Madonna della Grazia »).

Her 2022/2023 season includes concerts with Cappella Mediterranea, Les Arts Florissants, le Poème Harmonique, Il Giardino Armonico, the ensemble L'Encyclopédie, and a recital at the Opéra Comique.

Anna Reinhold is represented by RSB Artists since 2013.

After completing his studies at the Juilliard School, Alex Rosen made his international debut with Les Arts Florissants, under the direction of William Christie, in two tours of Haydn’s Creation and Handel’s Acis and Galatea. Since then, he has guarded his passion for historical performance, in projects both in Europe and back in the United States. Recently he appeared as Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Cincinnati Opera, as Cadmus and Somnus in Handel’s Semele with Opera Philadelphia, and as Jesus in Bach’s St. John Passion with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Les Arts Florissants, again under the direction of William Christie.

In the 2022/23 season, Alex embarks on a tour of Ariodante with Il Pomo d’Oro before making his debut at the Teatro Real, Madrid, as Caronte in L’Orfeo. He makes further appearances with the company of the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Versailles as Seneca L’incoronazione di Poppea, and later makes his debut with the Drottningholms Slottsteater in The Fairy Queen. Alex returns to the Basel Opera for Thomas Verstraeten’s staged production of The Creation, and appears in concert with Les Musiciens du Louvre and Les Arts Florissants.

Last season, Alex made a number of exciting company debuts including Commendatore/Masetto at the Liceu, Barcelona, and at the Bordeaux Opera, before then appearing at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as Seneca L’incoronazione di Poppea. He also appeared with the Basel Opera in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, and appeared in concert in Poland with Capella Cracoviensis.

Alex enjoys an ongoing collaboration with pianist Michał Biel, with whom he won 2nd prize in the 2018 International Hugo Wolf Academy Competition. As laureates of the Royaumont Foundation’s Art Song Academy, they have given recitals in some of Europe’s most prominent art song venues, including the Festival Lied Victoria de los Angeles in Barcelona, and Wigmore Hall in London. Alex is a native of La Cañada, California.

Magali Simard-Galdès is a young Canadian soprano renowned for her shimmering tone, refined musicality, and magnetic stage presence.

Magali has appeared in opera, recital, and with orchestra. Most recently, she appeared with I Musici de Montréal in Vivaldi’s Dixit dominus, RV 807, ECM+ in Gonneville’s Bonhomme de chemin, and Harmonie des saisons in Handel’s Messiah. She also portrayed Agnès in George Benjamin's Written on Skin with Opéra de Montréal, where she previously sung Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites, and Frasquita in Carmen. In past seasons, on the orchestral stage, she has performed with ensembles including Atelier lyrique de Tourcoing in Dubois’s Paradis Perdu, Opéra Grand Avignon in Charpentier’s Pastorale sur la nativité, Orchestre Métropolitain with Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Parsifal at the Festival de Lanaudière, as well as Orchestre Philharmonique du Nouveau Monde, Ensemble Novello, and Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire.

In 2019, Magali recorded three new song cycles by Deirdre Gribbin, Ailis Ni Riain, and Fuhong Shi, with the Tionscadal na nAmhrán Ealaíne Gaeilge/Irish Language Art Song Project. On the ATMA Classique label, she can be heard in Berlioz’s 25 Romances for Voice and Guitar and Ana Sokolovic’s Sirens. She also self-produced her first recital album Muses, which made Radio-Canada’s 2017 “50 Albums of the Year” list.

American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel, lauded as having “vocals that are smooth and ingratiating” (Daily Camera), returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the 22/23 season, singing Belcore in L’Elisir D’amore. Other debuts include the Father in Blue with English National Opera, Elviro in Xerxes with Detroit Opera, and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Pittsburgh Opera. In concert, Mr. Sumuel performs Mozart’s Requiem with the Cincinnati Symphony and James Conlon, Bach cantatas BWV 61 and 140 with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, open Washington Concert Opera’s season, performing in a gala with soprano Tammy Wilson, and returns to Mercury Houston for Handel’s Messiah. Finally, with Pacific Chorale, Mr. Sumuel takes part in a European tour, performing in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight.

Last season, Michael Sumuel made his debut as Jesus in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with LA Opera, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with Seattle Opera, Escamillo in Carmen for his debut with The Santa Fe Opera, a concert of arias to open The Dallas Opera season, the King in Massenet’s Cinderella with the Metropolitan Opera, Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera San Antonio and Escamillo with Chicago Opera Theater. In concert, Mr. Sumuel returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall to sing Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Zubin Mehta, Bach’s Easter Oratorio with Music of the Baroque and Mozart’s Requiem with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Highlights of past opera seasons have included the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Masetto in a new production of Don Giovanni, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, the San Francisco Opera to perform the title role in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro, Tom in the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier, Escamillo in Calixto Bieito’s production, Masetto, conducted by Marc Minkowski, and Elviro in Handel’s Xerxes. At Houston Grand Opera, he has performed Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Frank in Die Fledermaus, Masetto, Sharpless, Marcello and Schaunard in La bohéme. With Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he performed Sharpless, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, Schaunard and Theseus.

“Soprano imaginative and committed with ravishing treble” (La Libre Belgique), Florie Valiquette is a young Canadian opera singer on the rise.

Recently Valiquette sang Sophie (Werther) at the Opéra de Lyon, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and at the Opéra de Bordeaux, Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) in Luxembourg and Versailles and Gabrielle (La Vie Parisienne) in Rouen and at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) in Québec.

During her 2019-2020 season, she debuted as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte in Avignon and Versailles under the baton of Hervé Niquet. She also sang Le Nozze di Figaro (Barbarina) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées staged by James Gray and conducted by Jérémie Rhorer… She also performed in recitals at the Opéra Comique and the Opéra de Lille and in concert for Haydn Stabat Mater with Le Concert de la Loge.

She began the 2018-2019 season singing the title part of Coraline for the French creation at the Opéra de Lille of this opera composed by Mark-Anthony Turnage. Member of the troupe of the Opéra Comique, she has performed the part of Madeleine in Le Postillon de Lonjumeau. She has also made her debuts at the Opéra de Montpellier as Tytania (Midsummer Night’s dream) and at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse as Sophie (Werther).

In 2017-2018, Florie Valiquette joined the Ensemble of the Opernhaus Zürich, where she sang Die Zauberflöte (Papagena), Ronia Raübertochter (Birk), Parsifal (Flowermaiden), L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Fortuna and Damigella). She also did her debut in Werther (Sophie) at the Opéra de Vichy. In concert, she has performed Mozart Great Mass in C minor with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.

In 2016-2017, she was part of the International Opera Studio, the prestigious training program for young singers of the Opernhaus Zürich. There, she sang Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, l’Amour in Médée by Charpentier, Madame Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor. In Luxemburg, she revived the opera Svadbain the role of Milica, created in Aix-en-Provence, which she sang again in Ljubljana.

In 2015-2016, Florie Valiquette sang Elisetta in Il Matrimonio segreto by Cimarosa with the Dutch National Opera in Hengelo, Deventer, Amsterdam and Maastricht, Milica (Svadba) in Angers and Nantes, Frasquita (Carmen) at the Verbier Festival. In the beginning this season, Florie Valiquette made her debuts at the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in the roles of Frasquita (Carmen) and Yniold (Pelléas et Mélisande) under the baton of maestro Kent Nagano.

In July 2015, she returned to sing at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in the lead role of Milica for the new production of the opera Svadba-Wedding by Ana Sokolovic, after a remarkable passage in Bahrain in the roles of La Princesse and La Chauve-souris (L’Enfant et les sortilèges).

In concert, she has appeared with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec under maestro Steven Fox in the Harmoniemesse by Haydn, with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor under the baton of  Andrew Megill and with Les Violons du Roy under maestro Mathieu Lussier in the title role of Zémire et Azor, staged by oscar winning film director Denys Arcand. She also sang Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Handel’s Dixit Domonius for the Moments Lyriques in Chartres.

Florie Valiquette made her Montreal Opera debut in 2013 in the roles of Javotte (Manon), Miss Ellen(Lakmé), and covered the role of Nanetta (Falstaff) in 2014. Other credits include Teutile (Motezuma), Arsena (Der Zigeunerbaron) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni). Artist in residence at the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal from 2012 to 2015, she held the roles of the Sandman and the Dew Fairy (Hänsel und Gretel), Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief) and Galatea (Acis and Galatea).

« Equally at home in mainstream and Baroque opera, as well as in recital and oratorio » (Opera Canada), Florie Valiquette excels in a variety of repertoire from early music to contemporary, forking musical theatre.

She was invited as a soloist by several baroque ensembles such as Les Violons du Roy, Le Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Caprice Ensemble, Montreal Baroque, the Lamèque international baroque music Festival and les Talens lyriques.

In contemporary music, in addition to Svadba­‐Wedding, composer Denis Gougeon recommended her for singing his composition, Voix‐Venus, with pianist Louise-­Andrée Baril, in a tribute concert of the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, broadcasted on Espace Musique, the then‐named French music radio of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Florie Valiquette was revealed to the public in 2010 when interpreting Maria Von Trapp (The Sound of Music) in a Just for Laughs production staged by Denise Filiatrault. Critically acclaimed, the production was attended by more than 100,000 spectators in Montreal and received a nomination for the Show of the Year ­‐ Acting at the Québec Association for the Recording, Concert and Video Industries Gala in 2011.

She collaborated numerous times with Cirque Éloize in corporate events, as well as with the National Circus School for the Atelier Lyrique’s 30th anniversary production Hänsel und Gretel.

In chamber music, Florie Valiquette has been working with pianist Martin Dubé since 2009. They performed hailed recitals in Canada, Belgium and in the United States. She also appeared at the Orford Festival and at the Lachine Festival with pianist Olivier Godin, and in Helsinki, with pianist Ilmo Ranta, in a recital broadcasted on the Finnish national television Yle Klassinen.

Among her recent and future projects, Armide at the Opéra Comique, Dialogues des Carmélites in Glyndebourne, La Flûte enchantée and L’Enlèvement au sérail in Versailles and Lucio Silla in Krakow and concerts with Les Talens lyriques, the Orchestre de l’Opéra royal de Versailles, Le Concert de la Loge, La Chapelle harmonique and l’Orchestre symphonique Région Centre Val de Loire.

Florie Valiquette is supported by the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singers and has distinguished herself in several competitions such as the Mirjam Helin Competition, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition, the International Stepping Stone of the Canadian Music Competition and the Prix d’Europe.

 She holds a Master in Music performance from the University of Montreal and pursues her vocal training under the guidance Marlena Malas in New York.

Nathaniel Watson is a versatile artist who has performed successfully in a wide variety of musical styles. Highlights include Der Freischütz with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Colin Davis, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under Kurt Masur, and in Carnegie Hall with Sir Roger Norrington in the conductor’s debut concert in New York. He appeared in the title role in the Boston Early Music Festival production of Cavalli’s Ercole amante in Boston, at Tanglewood, and at the Utrecht Festival in Holland, and was featured in the Salzburg Festival production of Weill’s Mahagonny. He has appeared as soloist with the orchestras of Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Tokyo, Seattle, Santiago (Chile), Montréal, Québec, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. Recent seasons have included performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Nicholas McGegan and Philharmonia Baroque, Messiah with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, Mendelssohn’s Paulus and Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with L’Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and Handel’s Semele with Pacific Opera Victoria. Performances of Messiah with Tafelmusik in 2015 marked his 21st collaboration with the great Toronto ensemble. 

Born in Boston in 1955, Mr. Watson is a graduate of the Eastman School, where he studied with Thomas Paul; and Yale School of Music, where he studied with Phyllis Curtin and Blake Stern. He was a member of the Waverly Consort in for three years while living in New York City, where he also sang often with such groups as the New York Philharmonic, the St. Thomas Choir, Opera Ensemble of New York, and Orchestra of St. Luke's. He moved to Montreal in 1994, and has performed with most of the major orchestras and early music ensembles in North America, as well as several opera companies, having sung some 35 roles, including Papageno at the Carmel Bach Festival, the Speaker (also Magic Flute) in Calgary, Count Almaviva in Marriage of Figaro with Opera Atelier (Toronto), Eugene Onegin at the Banff Festival, and Sid in Albert Herring at Britten’s own Aldeburgh Festival. 

Nat appears on a CD of Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher with Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic, and a release of Scarlatti’s Agar et Ismaele esiliati with Seattle Baroque. He is also featured in recordings of the Bach Passions, the St. John with Alex Weimann and Orchestre Arion (Montréal), the St. Matthew with Jeffrey Thomas and the American Bach Soloists, and as Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea with Les Boréades de Montréal, directed by Eric Milnes. He has recently appeared with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in Handel’s Messiah, as well as a concert performance of Handel’s Rodelinda with Mercury Baroque in Houston. His long-time teacher was Herbert Burtis. 

Nathaniel Watson has recorded works by the American composers Samuel Barber, Philip Glass, Andrew Imbrie, and Claudio Spies, as well as premiering works by Mr. Spies, Miriam Gideon, Scott Lindroth, Ronald Perera, Lewis Spratlan, Chan Ka Nin and Earl Kim. He has been featured soloist in Ruth Fazal’s Oratorio Terezin, a work that has been performed in six countries, including Israel, and in Carnegie Hall.