Brahms et Dvořák : quintettes entre amis

Noëlla Bouchard joined Les Violons du Roy in 1995. Since then, she has played in several hundred concerts, some 30 international tours, and numerous recordings with this chamber orchestra in residence at Palais Montcalm – Maison de la musique in Quebec City.

Noëlla Bouchard began learning the violin at the age of five with Lucille Johnstone and continued her studies at Conservatoire de musique de Montréal from 1982 to 1992 in classes taught by Johanne Arel, Raymond Dessaints, Robert Verebes, Denis Brott, and Raffi Armenian. She earned her first award there in 1992. From 1992 to 1995 she continued to hone her skills with Moshe Hammer in Toronto. In 1994 she was a finalist at the International Stepping Stone Canadian Music Competition in Vancouver.  She has participated in a number of workshops at Domaine Forget, Camp musical des Laurentides, and Orford Musique.

In recent years, Noëlla Bouchard has been invited to Concerts du Bic (2016) and the Music and Beyond Festival in Ottawa (2018) and has played on a recording of André Mathieu’s chamber music with pianist Jean-Michel Dubé (2019).

Angélique Duguay has been a member of Les Violons du Roy since 1996. Her studies were at McGill University with Thomas Williams, Richard Roberts and Mauricio Fuks, where she received both a Bachelor of Music and an Artist Diploma.

She began her career performing with Orchestre symphonique de Laval, Les Jeunes Virtuoses de Montréal, and other groups. She was also a member of Opéra Rouen’s Orchestre Léonard de Vinci during a stay in Europe. She continues to make regular appearances with Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Opéra de Montréal, and La Sinfonia de Lanaudière.

She was part of Les Violons du Roy’s Vivica Genaux, airs de Handel et Hasse recording on Virgin Classics and other recordings. She has also taken part in all Les Violons du Roy’s international tours and is much in demand for private recording sessions.

Angélique Duguay plays a Joseph Ceruti, Cremone violin, 1825, generously provided by CANIMEX INC. of Drummondville (Quebec).

Pascale Gagnon graduated from the University of Montréal with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under the direction of Jean-François Rivest, and went to complete training sessions at the Orford Arts Centre, Le Domaine Forget in Saint-Irénée and the Banff Center for the Arts in Alberta.

Pascale Gagnon is a founding member of the Quatuor Bozzini (1994-1997), which won Second Prize in the CIBC National Competition in 1995, and First Prize in the “Debut” series in 1997. The Quartet is well known for its work in the contemporary music field, and in 1996 was invited to take part in the international forum for young composers in collaboration with Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM).

Pascale Gagnon was the concertmaster of the University of Montréal orchestra for the last three years of her student career, and toured in Spain in 1994. As a soloist and chamber musician, she took part in 1997 in two concerts recorded by CBC for the “Jeunes Artistes” series, and has also appeared with various professional ensembles including L’Orchestre Métropolitain, L’Orchestre symphonique de Laval, I Musici, La Pietà and La Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ). Pascale Gagnon has been a member of the chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy since May 2001.

Pascale Gagnon plays a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris, Guarneri model, 1850 violin, and uses an Émile-François Ouchard, (father), ca. 1930 bow, generously provided by CANIMEX INC. of Drummondville (Quebec).

Violinist Michelle Seto has been a member of the dynamic Quebec City chamber orchestra, Les Violons du Roy since 1992. She has appeared as soloist with some of Canada’s leading orchestras, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Quebec Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and with her own ensemble, Les Violons du Roy.

As a student, she distinguished herself by winning the first prizes in several of Canada’s national competitions, including the Canadian Music Competition, the CIBC Competition, the Début Series, and the Quebec Symphony Competition. She was the recipient of a Canada Council “B” Grant, which enabled her study to pursue her graduate studies in Boston at the New England Conservatory with James Buswell. Before that, she studied with Mauricio Fuks at McGill University and in London, England. Michelle Seto was born in Shawinigan to Chinese and Filipino parents. She grew up in Vancouver.

Violist Isaac Chalk received a rich and diverse musical education. In addition to training as an instrumentalist, he studied singing at the Maîtrise des Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal and worked extensively as a choral singer. He is also a graduate of Mozarteum University in Salzburg and of McGill University in Montréal, where he received the prestigious Lloyd Carr-Harris String Scholarship and the Golden Violin Award, Canada’s largest privately-funded music scholarship.

In February 2011, Isaac Chalk made his debut at Toronto’s Koerner Hall performing Béla Bartók’s Viola Concerto with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, conducted by Julian Kuerti. In June 2013, he was named principal viola of Les Violons du Roy and has since performed with the orchestra in its regular series in Quebec City and Montréal, at the Lanaudière Festival, at the Domaine Forget International Festival, and on tour in Canada and internationally. He has also appeared as a soloist with the orchestra on many occasions, most notably in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Anthony Marwood. Isaac Chalk has been generously supported by the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Annie Morrier entered Conservatoire de musique de Chicoutimi at age 5. In 1996, she moved to Quebec City to study under François Paradis. During her studies, she played with Orchestre Réseau des Conservatoires, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra, performing in Europe, the U.S., and across Canada. She honed her craft at the Domaine Forget summer academy, studying under renowned teachers such as Gérard Caussé and Bruno Giuranna. In 2001, she performed as a soloist with Orchestre des jeunes du Conservatoire and Orchestre symphonique de Québec. That same year, she graduated from the Conservatory with high distinction.

Annie Morrier has been a member of Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Quatuor Cartier, and contemporary music ensemble Erreur de Type 27. In addition to classical and contemporary music, Annie also performs traditional and Latin American music. Since 2005, she has been a permanent member of the Les Violons du Roy chamber orchestra. In 2015, she joined three other Quebec City area musicians and channeled her lifelong passion for chamber music into the group Quatuor Crema.

Principal cello of Les Violons du Roy, Benoît Loiselle also performs as a soloist and chamber musician. He appears regularly at various music festivals and events in Canada, and has played as a guest soloist with many orchestras, including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Les Violons du Roy, the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal and most recently, the Orchestre de la Francophonie canadienne.

In great demand as a collaborator for both concerts and recordings, he has played alongside musicians such as James Ehnes, Anton Kuerti, Olivier Thouin, Stéphane Lemelin, Anne Robert and Luc Beauséjour. In 2002-2003, he took part in the Tournées Desjardins series of Jeunesses Musicales of Canada, performing concerts throughout Eastern Canada with pianist François Zeitouni. Alongside his concert schedule, he teaches cello at the Académie du Domaine Forget.

As a founding member of Trio Hochelaga, Benoît Loiselle performed with the group from 2000 to 2006 in all major canadian venues and on an Asian tour in the fall of 2004. The Trio Hochelaga was the dedicatee of the Triple Concerto by Canadian composer Jacques Hétu, and gave its first performance in 2003.

Benoît Loiselle graduated from the Montréal conservatory as a student of Denis Brott, and went on to study with Antonio Lysy at McGill University. In 1999, he won the Prix d’Europe award offered by L’Académie de Musique du Québec and used it to study in Switzerland with Radu Aldulescu and Alberto Lysy, at the International Menuhin Music Academy and with Camerata Lysy Gstaad.

From 2003 to 2006, Benoît Loiselle played on the McConnell-Gagliano cello loaned by the Instrument Bank of the Canada Arts Council. He currently plays on a beautiful Lamy bow, generously loaned by Canimex.

Raphaël McNabney was born into a family of musicians in Montréal in 1982, but only began to play the double bass at the age of 19, after studying the cello between the ages of 7 and 14 with Monique and Walter Joachim and Denis Brott.

After this five-year break, a decisive meeting with Joël Quarrington rekindled his interest in music, this time as a double bass player. He quickly began a career as a chamber musician and soloist, and in June 2007 was appointed as principal bass with Les Violons du Roy.