Academy Chamber Orchestra and les Violons du Roy

Jean-Marie Zeitouni is recognized as one of the brightest conductors of his generation for his eloquent yet fiery style, in repertoires ranging from baroque to contemporary. He studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, most notably under Maestro Raffi Armenian, and graduated in conducting, percussion, and music theory. He is currently principal guest conductor of the Colorado Music Festival (where he served as music director from 2014 to 2018) and Artistic Partner of the Edmonton Symphony.

Jean-Marie Zeitouni was also artistic director and principal conductor of I Musici de Montréal (2011-2021), music director of the Columbus Symphony (2010-2015) in Ohio, music director of the Opera as Theatre program at the Banff Centre (2005-2007), and assistant conductor and chorus master of the Opéra de Montréal (and music director of its artist-in-residence program, the Atelier lyrique). He was also chorus master of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec and Opéra de Québec and music director of Université Laval’s opera workshop and symphony orchestra. While with the Violons du Roy, an orchestra with which he enjoyed a fruitful collaboration for a dozen years, he was alternately conductor in residence, assistant conductor and principal guest conductor.

Greatly appreciated as a lyrical director, he recently conducted the Opéra national de Montpellier and Orchestre national de Lorraine of Nancy. He has also conducted numerous productions at the Opéra de Montréal, Opéra de Québec, Glimmerglass Opera, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse and Opéra national de Lorraine, as well as productions in Banff, Calgary, Edmonton, Cincinnati and St. Louis.

Among the many Canadian symphony orchestras Jean-Marie Zeitouni has conducted are those of Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, Victoria, Kitchener-Waterloo and London, not to mention the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Arion Baroque Orchestra and Club musical de Québec. No stranger to the international stage, Mr. Zeitouni has conducted the symphony orchestras of Tucson, Houston, Oregon, Monterey, San Antonio, Omaha, Honolulu, Huntsville and Cincinnati, in addition to the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, Pacific Symphony, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonique de Marseille, Xalapa Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony of Mexico, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Arco Ensemble and Detroit Symphony. He is also a regular at the Festival international de Lanaudière, Festival international du Domaine Forget, Elora Festival, Parry Sound Festival and New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival. You may also have seen him at festivals in Round Top, Texas, and Grant Park, Illinois. He recently made his debut in Moscow with the Russian National Orchestra and at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées of Paris.

In 2021-2022, Jean-Marie Zeitouni will conduct at the Victoria Symphony, the Violons du Roy, the Opéra de Québec (Don Giovanni), Opéra de Montréal (La beauté du Monde) and will return at l’Opéra National de Lorraine (Ariane et Barbe-Bleue).

Appointed Artistic Director of Arion Baroque Orchestra in 2019, Mathieu Lussier previously served as Associate Conductor of the chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy from 2012 to 2018, directing the ensemble’s performances throughout Canada and in Mexico, Brazil and the US, and collaborating with artists including Marc-André Hamelin, Alexandre Tharaud, Jeremy Denk, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Philippe Jarrousky, Julia Lezhevna, Anthony Marwood and Karina Gauvin. In 2014, he received the Canada Council for the Arts’ Jean-Marie Beaudet Award for orchestral conducting. As Artistic Director of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival from 2008 to 2014, Mathieu Lussier also led various Canadian ensembles including Arion Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, I Musici de Montréal, Symphony Nova Scotia (Halifax), Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Drummondville and Sherbrooke symphony orchestras.

For the past 20 years, Mathieu has tirelessly and passionately introduced audiences throughout North America, South America and Europe to the modern and Baroque bassoons as both solo and orchestral instruments. He continues to pursue a career in chamber music with Pentaèdre in Montreal, and was appointed Professor at the Faculty of Music of Université de Montréal in the summer of 2014. A talented communicator known for his humour and eloquence, Mathieu Lussier also served as President of the Conseil québécois de la musique from 2012 to 2015 and as President of CAMMAC from 2015 to 2017. In August 2019, he was named Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Professorial Affairs and Faculty Life at the Faculty of Music of Université de Montréal.

Mathieu Lussier is also a composer whose catalogue comprises more than 50 works performed regularly in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In 2018, he composed part of the music for the film La chute de l’empire américain by Oscar-winning director Denys Arcand. His works are published by Trevcomusic (US), Accolade (Germany), June Emerson (UK) and Gérard Billaudot (France).