Comme au Café Zimmermann

Flutist Anne Thivierge performs in Europe, Canada and the United States with renowned ensembles, such as the Concert des Nations (Jordi Savall, Spain), the Ensemble Pygmalion (Raphaël Pichon, France), the Ensemble Correspondances ( Sébastien Daucé, France), Boston Baroque (Martin Pearlman, Boston), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (Jeanne Lamon), Les Violons du Roy, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Pallade Musica, Harmony of the Seasons and La Chamaille. On the international scene, she has performed in prestigious venues and festivals such as The Frick Collection (New York), Music Before 1800 (New York), Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Chapelle royale de Versailles (France), Theater an der Wien (Austria) and the Cologne Philharmonic (Germany). She has recorded under several labels, including Harmonia mundi, Alpha, ATMA and Analekta.

Anne Thivierge studied the baroque flute with Barthold Kuijken, Frank Theuns and Marc Hantaï and she holds a master's degree from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (Belgium). She also holds a master's degree from the University of Montreal where she studied with Lise Daoust. She teaches flute at the Conservatoire de musique de Rimouski and baroque flute at McGill University.

At the age of eleven, Jean-Louis Blouin began to concentrate on the viola. From 1989 to 1993 he studied at the Montréal Conservatory, where he obtained a higher education diploma. He then studied with Jutta Puchhammer at the University of Montréal, where he completed a Master’s degree in interpretation.

Since 1996, Jean-Louis Blouin has been a permanent member of Les Violons du Roy and appears in several of the group’s recordings, including J.S. Bach’s Art of Fugue and Psalm 51. His interest in Baroque music and experience with early instruments has also led to performances with other specialized groups, primarily as a violist but also on the Baroque violin.

Audiences have heard him perform with the Tafelmusik and Aradia ensembles from Toronto, at the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival, and in Quebec with the Montreal Baroque Orchestra; Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal; the Arion, Les Boréades, and La Chamaille ensembles; as well as Masques, with which he produced a recording of Bach concertos for harpsichord on the Analekta label.

Jean-Louis Blouin plays a Giuseppe Pedrazzini viola, Milan ca 1930, and uses a Louis Gillet viola bow, ca 1965, generously provided by CANIMEX INC. of Drummondville (Quebec) Canada.

A member of Les Violons du Roy since 2008, cellist Raphaël Dubé performs regularly in concert, both here and abroad. His artistic activities are diverse, ranging from chamber orchestra and chamber music to solo performances and collaborations with artists from various disciplines.

For several years, Raphaël has also served as artistic director of the Education and Community program at Les Violons du Roy. He develops projects in these areas and has led dozens of music workshops and lectures in numerous schools, CEGEPs, and museums in Quebec City. Notably, he has co-directed major multidisciplinary projects in collaboration with elementary and secondary schools, projects that have earned an Opus Award and the 2024 Essor National Grand Prize.

Raphaël Dubé plays a Giovanni Grancino cello, circa 1695–1700, kindly loaned to him by Canimex Inc. of Drummondville, Quebec, Canada.

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.