Cameron Crozman et le génie des Lumières

Nicolas Ellis is the Artistic Director, Conductor and Founder of the Orchestre de l’Agora and currently serves as Artistic Partner to the Orchestre Métropolitain and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He was recently named Principal Guest Conductor for Les Violons du Roy, starting in the 2023-2024 season.

Mr. Ellis appeared as guest conductor with numerous Canadian orchestras including Les Violons du Roy, the Vancouver Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, the Orchestre Métropolitain, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. He also regularly collaborates with the Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier lyrique.

During the 2022-2023 season, he is invited to conduct performances of Britten’s War Requiem at the Oper Graz in Austria and returns as a guest conductor to the Orchestre National de Bretagne. He has also collaborated as Assistant conductor to conductor Raphaël Pichon and his Ensemble Pygmalion on productions of Fidelio (Opéra comique de Paris) and Idomeneo (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence).

Mr. Ellis founded the Orchestre de l’Agora in 2013. The orchestra uses music as a tool for sustainable social change and has established itself on the Montreal scene for its creative programming and bold projects. Its repertoire ranges from Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos, to Britten’s Turn of the Screw, to new works by Canadian composers, and more recently the ensemble presented Mahler’s 3rd symphony for its Gala de la Terre, a fundraising concert for environmental organizations. The orchestra has developed projects involving youth with mental health challenges, educational music workshops for children and a monthly concert series at the Prison de Bordeaux in Montreal.

Nicolas Ellis is the recipient of the 2017 Bourse de carrière Fernand-Lindsay and was named Revelation of the Year 2018-2019 by Radio-Canada. More recently, he won the Prix Goyer Mécénat Musica 2021.

Named “Canada’s next big cello star” by CBC Music and selected 2019-20 Classical Révélation artist of ICI-Musique Radio-Canada, cellist Cameron Crozman is making a name for himself both at home and internationally. Performing recitals and chamber music across Canada and the USA as well as over in Europe, engagements have taken him to such world-renowned venues as the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Berliner Philharmonie, Paris Philharmonie, Philadelphia's Mann Centre, and Canada's National Arts Centre. He has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras across Canada including the Montreal, Winnipeg, Quebec, Hamilton, and Vancouver Island Symphonies under the direction of conductors including Gemma New, Fabien Gabel, and Edwin Outwater. As the recipient of the Canada Council Michael Measure’s prize, he was the featured soloist with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and conductor Alain Trudel during their 2012 tour of Canada and the USA. Current season highlights include appearances with I Musici, the Niagara Symphony, a tour of the Canadian Prairies, and a performance at America’s National Museum of Music.

An avid collaborator and chamber musician, Mr. Crozman regularly shares the stage with world-renowned artists including James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, Boris Giltburg, Martin Beaver, Inon Barnatan, James Campbell, Hue Watkins, Gerard Caussé, and members of the Ébène, New Zealand, and Penderecki String Quartets. He regularly appears at festivals around the world such as the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Helsinki Musica Nova, Birmingham Frontiers Festival, and Musique et Vin festival at Clos Vougeot in Burgundy. His performances have been broadcast on CBC/Radio-Canada, Radio France, Radio Classique, and Medici.tv.

Mr. Crozman’s debut album, Cavatine, recorded on the ca. 1696 “Bonjour” Stradivarius cello, was released to critical acclaim in 2019 and described by the France’s publication Classica Magazine as displaying “technical perfection with a personal style that leaves us wanting to hear more.” His most recent solo recording of the Britten Cello Suites, debuted in Monaco in the presence of Princess Caroline of Hannover, is already garnering similar praise, receiving highest marks from Diapason Magazine, one of the world’s leading classical music publications.